Costa Rica for Sale: Gentrification, Privilege, and Invisible Resistance

 Blog By Sian Deda

In recent years, Costa Rica has been internationally promoted as a natural paradise, a haven for sustainable tourism, foreign investment, and the laid-back “pura vida” lifestyle. But behind that idyllic image lies a profound and silent transformation: gentrification.

This phenomenon, which is severely impacting the country’s coastal communities, is displacing local populations, altering social and cultural ecosystems, and turning public spaces into exclusive zones for a privileged few. It's a less visible side of development, where progress is no longer inclusive and becomes a driving force of displacement.

What is Gentrification?

Gentrification is a process where areas traditionally inhabited by lower- or middle-income populations begin to change due to the arrival of people with higher purchasing power. While it may come with urban improvements or better services, it often leads to exorbitant price increases, the displacement of original residents, loss of cultural identity, and covert privatization of land and public spaces.

In Costa Rica, this process is not limited to cities. On the contrary, it is rapidly gaining strength in rural and coastal regions, particularly those with high tourism, ecological, or aesthetic value, and it’s happening at an alarming pace.

Coastal Pressure Points

Areas like Santa Teresa, Nosara, Tamarindo, Sámara, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Uvita, and Manzanillo have become hotspots for aggressive real estate speculation. The pattern is familiar: land once affordable is now owned by foreigners or large companies; rents skyrocket; local businesses are transformed or pushed out; longtime residents are forced to relocate inland or become marginalized within their own communities.

Enclave Tourism and Local Exclusion

The rise of so-called “enclave tourism” has intensified the process. Luxury developments, boutique hotels, gated condos, and upscale residence, emerge as islands of privilege, disconnected from the needs and realities of the local population.

In many cases, access to public beaches is restricted, natural areas are informally privatized, and the cost of basic goods and services climbs dramatically. The rhetoric of “development” masks the exclusion. Towns like Nosara and Playa Hermosa now seem tailor-made for digital nomads and foreign retirees, while local residents face invisibility and loss of belonging.

Who’s Driving Gentrification?

Several actors are pushing this transformation:

Foreign investors who, leveraging permissive laws and legal loopholes, buy large plots of land through shell companies and trusts.

Local governments that prioritize economic revenue over community well-being, often approving projects in ecologically sensitive zones.

The real estate sector, which markets Costa Rica as an exotic, untouched paradise, without mentioning the social and cultural costs of that narrative.

Emerging Hotspots at Risk

While Guanacaste remains the epicenter, other regions are showing early signs of gentrification:

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a historically Afro-Caribbean and Indigenous community, is seeing its cultural identity diluted by new businesses catering to foreign tourists.

Uvita and Ojochal, in the southern zone, exemplify a model of “green colonization” where ecological aesthetics are used to mask exclusionary land practices.

Tortuguero, though protected, is starting to feel pressure from eco-development narratives that hide commercial interests.

The Hidden Consequences

Progressive displacement of historic residents, particularly youth and low-income families.
Loss of community bonds, traditions, languages, and cultural practices.

Transformation of the natural environment, not only through construction but changes in consumption and land use patterns.

Economic dependence on international tourism, which increases vulnerability to global crises—as seen during the pandemic.

Community Resistance: Reclaiming Territory

In response, various communities are organizing to resist:

In Manzanillo (Caribbean south), legal actions are underway to protect ecological zones from mega-hotel developments.

In Sámara, local collectives are launching environmental education campaigns and defending public space.

In Montezuma, a movement for regenerative tourism promotes a circular economy based on fair trade, local identity, and community involvement.

These efforts, often ignored or undermined by powerful interests, are reclaiming the right to inhabit, care for, and decide over their territory.

What Can Be Done?

Gentrification is not inevitable. Alternatives do exist:

Pass urban and tourism development laws focused on territorial justice.

Implement progressive taxation on large foreign investments, especially speculative land purchases.

Strengthen community-based tourism, placing people, not just capital, at the center.
Foster territorial education so future generations understand the value of roots, identity, and stewardship.

A Call to Action

Costa Rica stands at a crossroads. It can continue selling its land to the highest bidder in pursuit of quick economic gain, or it can protect its roots, its people, and its true wealth: its social, ecological, and cultural diversity.

Because a paradise that expels its people ceases to be a paradise.

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