It’s time to get excited about cannabis tourism.
Costa Rica is hoping to attract the attention of more than just the locals.
With a booming tourism industry and a reputation for adventure, Costa Rica hopes its legalization will bring in cannabis tourists from around the world. If you’re looking for an exciting new place to visit and enjoy cannabis, this could be it.
A Unique Marketing Effort
Costa Rica recently filed a Bill of Law legalizing adult-use cannabis, and the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism (CRIT) is taking full advantage. Article 52 of the bill legalizing recreational cannabis explicitly allows CRIT to advertise the country as a destination for recreational cannabis.
Supporters say this will create new business opportunities for Costa Ricans and will reduce drug trafficking. They also believe it could attract tourists from all over the world and are ready to make the most out of this opportunity.
This isn’t just an opportunity for cannabis enthusiasts—it’s also a unique opportunity for those interested in seeing what cannabis tourism looks like in practice. While this type of tourism is not new, it’s still fairly rare, and Costa Rica will be a fascinating experience (and case study) for cannabis enthusiasts and researchers.
Residents and tourists of age can enjoy a wide variety of cannabis products from local dispensaries, and they can also take advantage of the soon-to-be-implemented consumption zones—public areas where it is legal to use cannabis products! This could make Costa Rica an entirely new kind of tourist destination—but not all are in favor.
The Opposition
Costa Rica is one of the most popular countries in the world for cannabis tourism.
But there’s a catch: some figures in the Costa Rican government, like Congressman David Segura opposes the idea of promoting their country as a cannabis tourist destination. They argue that much of the tourism to the country comes from families, and promoting the country as a place to smoke weed isn’t very “family-friendly.”
This is an attitude held by most governments around the world and even by social media companies. In fact, one of the biggest issues in the USA is that cannabis companies can’t advertise their businesses on social media because Meta has deemed cannabis not family-friendly, and businesses are struggling for it.
In Costa Rica, however, there seems to be a different attitude toward cannabis: one of acceptance and support for its legalization. By supporting their cannabis industry and promoting it as a safe activity to do there, they’re helping normalize responsible recreational usage—which is essential. Whether we like it or not, marketing is hugely influential in popular consciousness, and Costa Rica is ready to present a model of responsible recreational usage to the world.
By supporting their cannabis industry and promoting it as a safe activity to do there, Costa Rica is helping normalize responsible recreational usage and giving people an idea of what responsible use looks like—something that’s crucial if we want people around the world to use cannabis safely.
Costa Rica is a real pioneer in the cannabis industry, and we’re so excited to see how it moves forward with legalization and with cannabis tourism.
It’s an exciting time for the country as more and more countries legalize marijuana. As more countries legalize, it will become completely normal to travel somewhere internationally specifically for access to cannabis products or events. The Costa Rican model will be hugely influential in other countries as cannabis becomes more normalized—we’re certainly looking forward to seeing how this plays out!
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