Biodiversity and infrastructure interact to drive tourism to and within Costa Rica

Significance Tourism accounts for roughly 10% of global gross domestic product, with nature-based tourism its fastest-growing sector in the past 10 years. Nature-based tourism can theoretically contribute to local and sustainable development by creating attractive livelihoods that support biodiversity conservation, but whether tourists prefer to visit more biodiverse destinations is poorly understood. We examine this question in Costa Rica and find that more biodiverse places tend indeed to attract more tourists, especially where there is infrastructure that makes these places more accessible. Safeguarding terrestrial biodiversity is critical to preserving the substantial economic benefits that countries derive from tourism. Investments in both biodiversity conservation and infrastructure are needed to allow biodiverse countries to rely on tourism for their sustainable development.研究意义 旅游业约占全球国内生产总值的10%，其中以自然为基础的旅游业（nature-based tourism）是过去十年间增长最快的细分板块。理论上，以自然为基础的旅游业可通过打造助力生物多样性保护的优质生计模式，推动当地可持续发展，但游客是否更偏好前往生物多样性更为丰富的旅游目的地，这一问题尚未得到充分探明。本研究以哥斯达黎加为研究对象展开调研，结果显示生物多样性更为丰富的地区确实更能吸引游客，尤其是在具备完善基础设施、可及性更强的区域。保护陆地生物多样性，对于维系各国从旅游业中获取的可观经济收益至关重要。生物多样性丰富的国家若要依托旅游业实现可持续发展，需同时在生物多样性保护与基础设施建设两方面投入资源。