Costa Rica’s tourism institute lost efficiency in its international marketing and advertising expenditure, according to an operational audit by the Comptroller General of the Republic. The audit found that spending increased much faster than foreign tourist arrivals by air and tourism-generated foreign exchange.
Spending increased faster than arrivals
Between 2022 and 2025, the Costa Rican Tourism Institute, known as the ICT, increased international advertising and marketing expenditure by 223%, from $8.59 million to $27.75 million. Over the same period, foreign tourist arrivals by air rose 27%, from 2.12 million to 2.69 million. The Comptroller calculated that the cost of attracting each air-arriving tourist increased from $4 in 2022 to $10 in 2025. Its return indicator also fell: tourism-generated foreign exchange declined from $0.45 for every dollar invested in 2022 to $0.20 in 2025. The calculation for the latest year uses preliminary foreign-exchange data.
The audit did not assign sole causation
The Comptroller said tourism arrivals and foreign-exchange generation are multicausal, affected by factors beyond the ICT’s international promotion and advertising. The audit therefore did not attribute the changes exclusively to advertising expenditure. However, it found insufficient statistical evidence of a significant and robust relationship between ICT advertising spending and either international arrivals or foreign exchange. The conclusion remained after excluding the extraordinary 2020–2022 period and allowing for a possible delayed effect on the following year. Markets receiving campaigns did not show statistically stronger growth than markets without marketing investment between 2022 and 2025.
Monitoring must connect spending to outcomes
The audit identified a planning gap: the ICT did not link expected tourism-attraction results to the financial resources invested to achieve them. Institutional monitoring focused on indicators for individual marketing and advertising actions, rather than measuring the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the public tourism-promotion service. This is the procurement lesson in the case. Advertising activity can be monitored through campaign-level measures, but public spending also requires outcome indicators that allow buyers and suppliers to assess whether resources produced the intended public result. The Comptroller said higher spending, without a demonstrable significant increase in foreign arrivals, cannot reasonably ensure sound use of public funds.
A new performance mechanism is required
The Comptroller ordered the ICT to develop, formalise and implement a follow-up and monitoring mechanism based on performance indicators. It must assess tourism promotion, visitor length of stay, the contribution to sustainable development, the impact of international marketing and advertising campaigns, and the results of the resources invested. The audit also found that international flight searches in 14 markets grew 34% between 2022 and 2025, while international advertising and propaganda spending rose 223%. The ICT carried out marketing actions in 13 of those markets. The audit report says the institute was informed of the findings but did not comment on them.
| Measure | Finding |
|---|---|
| International advertising and marketing spending | Rose 223%, from $8.59 million to $27.75 million |
| Foreign tourist arrivals by air | Rose 27%, from 2.12 million to 2.69 million |
| Cost per air-arriving tourist | Increased from $4 in 2022 to $10 in 2025 |
| Tourism foreign exchange per dollar invested | Declined from $0.45 to $0.20 |
| International flight searches | Rose 34% in 14 markets |
| Markets with ICT marketing actions | 13 of the 14 markets analysed |
The cost of attracting each air-arriving tourist rose from $4 in 2022 to $10 in 2025.
WHY IT MATTERS
Public advertising procurement should be linked to performance measures that cover outcomes, not only the delivery of individual campaigns. Costa Rica’s audit requires the ICT to monitor tourism promotion, visitor length of stay, sustainable development, campaign impact and the results of invested resources.
Reported from elfinancierocr.com, 2026-09-29. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
