The Experience of Caminos de Osa: an Initiative of Sustainable Tourism in Costa Rica

Abstract

Caminos de Osa is an effort to consolidate a sustainable tourism destination from local individual and family ventures, for the integral and sustainable local development of the Osa Peninsula. It took shape since 2011 with the establishment of the Osa and Golfito Initiative (INOGO) by the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment (Stanford University) and took off in 2014 thanks to an alliance with three other partners: the Osa Conservation Area (ACOSA), CRUSA Foundation, and Reinventing Business for All (RBA). It also has the support of many other public, private, nongovernmental and academic actors. Caminos de Osa seeks to promote local entrepreneurship, develop quality tourism products and services, and strengthen the commercialization chain. Several entrepreneurs participating in the project founded the Caminos de Osa Association (ACO) as a model of governance to provide long term continuity and sustainability.