Abstract
This paper provides an overview of the different impacts of cruise tourism in Costa Rica. The purpose of the study is to provide information, based on primary investigation collected by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute during the period 2006—2008, to help the decision making process and the establishment of policies and strategies for cruise ship tourism. We focus on cruise passenger demographic characteristics, preferences and expenditure behaviors, and we compare the expenditures of the average cruise passenger with the average land tourist that visits the country. We show that Costa Rica's cruise tourists tend to visit the same attractions at the same time as the land tourist. We show that cruisers are older and less wealthy, and spend less time and money than the average tourist, raising some concerns as to whether cruise tourism in Costa Rica should be encouraged.