Tourism round 2 (Ecotourism)

Tourism is Costa Rica is still the largest money maker for the Costa Rican economy. Things haven't changed in a week but I have more information to include. On our most recent trip to Monteverde, we experienced the private forest for eco-tourism. Its a park full of animals but the park is very strict on what we can and cannot touch. They believe in keeping the forest exactly as they found it, unharmed and completely natural. We went on two nature hikes, one at night and one during the day. We saw very few animals but I learned that people come from all over the world to see the biodiversity in the "cloud forest" as they call it. It rained the entire time we were in Monteverde. Along the lines of tourism, I was strictly a tourist when I went to La Playa de Manuel Antonio on the Pacific Ocean. No teachers, just the 27 of us. We stayed in a cheap hotel and went to the beach which was not extremely nice or beautiful. This was very touristy, home of the 10$ hamburgers and happy hour drink specials. There were many vendors and many people trying to sell us things. This place was Costa Rican tourism in a nut shell. I have just found out that Costa Rica also offers gay couples tours, Costa Rica has everything to offer its tourists. You name it, Costa Rica can offer you scuba diving, snorkeling, horseback riding.... etc.
During my research, i have discovered a discrepency in economic data. Some information says that tourism is the countries number one money maker, where others say that the Intel plant here generates more income. Needless to say, both are very important to the Costa Rican economy which is rapidly growing as quality of life also continues to improve.

Costa Rica is trying to be green, and offer ecotourism in which unlimited tourists can visit the cloud forest and rainforest, but can it really remain sustainable and unharmed given the enormous amount of tourists each year? This is one concept that takes much research, but there is no doubt that it is hard to maintain the environment here, but Costa Rica is taking a step in the right direction. 

Costa Rica is selling something when they attract tourists. They are selling an image of a "green industry" or a country devoted to wildlife and the conservation of the environment. This is why Costa Rica attracts and promotes so many ecotourists. Costa Rica tries to boast environmental regulations on travel services, which may hurt some profits in the short run, will pay off in the long run because they will have such a preserved country. The government works hard to keep the regulations in place and keep the country preserved!