Estebanh wrote:
I have read many times on this web site that Costa Rica is known for its Sex Tourism. I am not in total agreement. For those of you have been in the hobby for many years, this is your life and you are well aware of it and you hear from people who are well aware of it.
Prior to December of last year, I hardly knew anything about Costa Rica and had vaguely heard of the eco tourism in Costa Rica. I only became aware of Costa Rica as a potential destination having heard that I could get my dental work done at a reasonable price. I have learned everything that I know about sex tourism and prostitution in Costa Rica FROM THIS WEB SITE (that I just happened to come across by accident and boy am I glad I did).
Firstly, Costa Rica is only a minor tourism destination for Americans (less than 2% of Americans traveling abroad visit Central America). Secondly, I don't believe that sex tourism is widely known as being available and a problem in Costa Rica. When Americans think of Sex Tourism, Thailand and Amsterdam are typically the names associated with this. I know this issue probably looms large in the minds of Costa Ricans, but, I don't think its on the "Radar Screen' for most Americans, period. When I tell my friends about my recent trip to Costa Rica, there is no mention or acknowledgment that Sexual Tourism is a major issue or problem (or even available) for this little country. They are all more curious in why I would go to this country that they have rarely even heard about. They seem more interested in hearing about the outdoor activities and culture and so on. Prostitution is legal in Mexico and most other Latin countries but that does not change the perception of a whole country in the mind of the people visiting, its just the way things are down there.
Ditto Most Americans could care less, and know very little about CR much less the Gulch etc.
Even if you drove through there you would not even know what the DR was unless you got out and walked inside.