In April of this year, Costa Rica was said to be the fifth CLEANEST country on the planet. It has also been known for quite some time to be the most environmentally friendly country as well... and dare we forget Costa Rica, the Nicoya Peninsula in particular, is now HOME to one of the coveted Blue Zones. But not only CLEAN, BLUE and environmentally friendly, NOW, Costa Rica is also the 'Happiest' and 'Greenest' country on the GLOBE according to the folks at, ‘The New Economics Foundation.’ Apparently these folks have MONEY and extra time on their hands since they looked at 143 countries, and devised an equation which evaluates life expectancy and people’s happiness against their environmental impact. Who knew?This is one of the WORST things that could have happened to Costa Rica.
The marketing machine that IS Costa Rica has already SUCCESSFULLY linked and made itself synonymous with the following words
and phrases over the years:Green, self-sustainable, Paradise, organic, environmentally friendly, Slice of Heaven, Happy, carbon neutral country, Pura Vida, clean, Blue Zone, Simple life, Blah, Blah, Blah.
These words will also be the eventual downfall of Costa Rica (mark my words) as they can’t possibly live up to this ‘Garden of Eden’ type status they’ve created for themselves in the long haul. Not that I'm hoping things don't really CHANGE for the BETTER.
There are a FEW of us who do CARE and will expose this farce, this ‘creative marketing’ for what it is- But not to merely BAD mouth the country, that is NEVER my intent, but to educate and wake UP people to what’s REALLY happening.... and conversely what needs to be done to be TRULY environmentally friendly and GREEN and self-sustainable, and organic and BLUE and……………….. happy. PERCEPTION is not necessarily REALITY.
This perception of being ‘clean’, environmentally friendly ETC. will loll the masses into complacency about what’s really HAPPENING in the countries oceans, rivers and rainforests. This marketing technique of, ‘Paradise on EARTH’ is working a little too well, but have you seen what’s going on in places like Manuel Antonio, Jacó, Tamarindo and other popular tourist destinations- polluted rivers, deforestation, wildlife corridors blocked, over-building, illegal building, shark finning etc.
The Tico’s have been hearing these PURA VIDA slogans for so long, not only do they tend to believe them, but they REPEAT them and help spread the misconception, especially to the tourist types. Tico’s won’t like what I’m about to say, and of course I’m not saying ‘ALL’ Tico’s, but it seems to be TRUE that Tico’s often have their head in the sand as to the environmental ISSUES of their country. Content in an 'out-of-sight', 'out-of-mind' sort of way. No wonder they’re HAPPY.
Problem is, if Tico's don't think there's a problem, the issues that need to be addressed and changed just won't have the SUPPORT. If the awards and superlatives are the perception of the REAL Costa Rica, why fix it if it ain't broke?
One other thing.. and there’s also no denying this… Costa Rica’s BARK is much worse than their BITE, which has always been one of the main problems with all their self-sustainable, environmentally friendly BULLSHIT. Don’t get me started.
Costa Rica has DONE it, with even BIGGER results than they could have imagined. Say something long enough and people begin to BELIEVE and hence, the perception has become the reality… WORLD WIDE.
There’s TALK that even God wants to move here (he's heard a lot of good things). Which is cool, cause I got some land for SALE.
Like I said, this is one of the WORST things that could have happened.
Hey Everyone, we got TONS of Costa Rica Travel Information in our Travel Guide at Travel Costa Rica NOW and don't FORGET all our Costa Rica Travel Tip Videos, completely ORGANIZED so you can EASILY find what you're LOOKING for. ENjOY!
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