Costa Rica Self Reflection
Over the past 5 weeks living and studying in Costa Rica, I have been given so many incredible opportunities that I have almost lost count. One of the aspects of my time abroad that has impacted me the most was my encountering of Costa Rican ecotourism. As an individual with great affection for business, many of the aspects surrounding ecotourism where either not of particular interest to me or completely foreign. However, throughout the past five weeks I have learned just how successfully private enterprise and sustainability truly can co exist with one another. After witnessing the dynamics of Isla Tortuga’s operations and reviewing INBioparque’s financial statements, I have started to become more aware of just how profitable the relationship between business and sustainability can be.
As a business student with an interest in the tourism industry, I have been able to learn and apply a completely new and unique aspect of tourism to my educational concentration. Learning about ecotourism has led me to the conclusion that even areas lacking as much biodiversity as Costa Rica possesses will still need to take a vested interest in their surrounding area to maintain a healthy ecosystem that further encourages individuals to visit and maintain a stable tourism industry in these locations. This aspect will be crucial for future business success because locations with severe environmental degradation will eventually no longer be able to support a well functioning tourism industry.
Overall I consider these past 5 weeks in Costa Rica and my experience with ecotourism as something that has left a significant impact on my future potential career endeavors. I truly have learned why sustainability is so important to the tourism industry and I truly posses the desire to apply these concepts to all of my future business endeavors with the intentions of still creating profit.
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