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Dr. Leon Mach
Sustainability Analysis of Surf Tourism in Costa Rica
Surf tourism is a rapidly increasing phenomenon, and while approximations of the
actual number of the surfing population that exist worldwide vary between 5 million to
roughly 35 million, 15 million being “active” surfers, it has been estimated that the global
surf industry “generates between $70 and $130 billion dollars annually.” (Ponting and
O’Brien, 2014, p.1-2) Even unofficial estimates show the prevalence of surf tourism on a
global scale, and those numbers will only continue to grow. The nature of surf tourism
can, however, be fickle in how it treats its destination surf spots.
In a class lecture Dr. Leon Mach referred to surf tourism as a “Trojan horse”
tourism. Surfers will always, by nature of the goals of their sport, be drawn to untouched
areas of the world with great waves. The surfer’s mediascape often represents the ideal
image of a lifestyle as surfing uninhabited waves, often requiring a pilgrimage. This has
become a part of the surfer’s habitus. Surf tourism then finds these remote locations and
spreads stories of their ideality. These locations see steady rise in pilgrimages and tourists
until a point comes when their waves become overpopulated. Surf tourism will go out to
find the next ideal location, while the tourist industry in its’ left behind location
diversifies to a wider audience. Surf tourism unknowingly starts these ideal locations
down a new economic path that can crumble far too easily. Once that destination replaces
it’s own economy with the now booming tourist economy, any negative change such as
disease, natural disaster, political uprising, etc. can deplete the amount of tourists that
will come. All these tourists have to do is find a new vacation destination. These
locations, however, are deprived of the key ingredient to their new economy and can face
a collapse. Barring all of these unfortunate events the tourist industry will eventually

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outgrow the location, and it will again face a possible economic decline if they are not
able to find a way to continue growth, as the tourism life cycle shows. This paper will
serve as a case study analysis combining Ponting and O’Brien’s “Liberalizing Nirvana...”
and our own findings in Nosara and Avellana, Costa Rica, through personal experience,
lessons, and independent study to understand the impact and consequences of surf
tourism on those destinations and potential solutions to the problems that could arise for
them.
“Liberalizing Nirvana...” breaks down it’s analysis of surfing’s sustainability into
five criteria, or frameworks, along with a basic understanding of Fiji’s socio-political
landscape, dealing with their qoliqoli rights and infringement on them, to help understand
surf tourism’s place in Fiji and the affects of it.
Move Away from Neo-Liberal Forms of Management
It is worth mentioning that the author’s language suggests a definite bias towards
ridding Fiji of the newly liberalized surf decree. Opposing arguments are acknowledged
and quoted appropriately, but acknowledging the author’s bias allows for room to
understand that more or better evidence may have been found or sought out, intentionally
or not, backing this bias. It is also worth mentioning that of the criteria put forth by the
author, this was the most debate worthy one, and the quotes and evidence given on both
sides are satisfactory so mentioning this is purely for transparency, not in criticism of the
author.
Ponting and O’Brien show that after the liberalization of the Fijian beaches,
“crowds in excess of 70 surfers [were] observed at Cloudbreak, along with ‘surf rage’
and injury resulting from congestion...”(Ponting and O’Brien, 2014, p. 8) The

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Dr. Leon Mach
overwhelming fear against the liberalization policy that is referred to as the “surfing
decree” is that these overcrowding issues will continue, the tragedy of the commons will
inevitably follow, and with it economic degradation. Since no organization or structure
now has ownership of the breaks, no personal charge will be taken to sustain them. On
the opposite side of this decree are arguments that those breaks were ”never [surfers’] to
begin with... [and that] Tavarua is about much more than carrying capacities of surf
spots.” (Ponting and O’Brien, 2014, p. 8) They believe those breaks belong to Fijians, or
even to the public. Ponting and O’Brien quote the attorney general of Fiji, “we’ve done
this (liberalization) with telecommunications, we’re doing it in other areas” (Ponting and
O’Brien, 2014, p. 9) meaning that this liberalization of a Fijian commodity could be part
of a larger scale economic reform for the country, and the surf industry is only a piece of
this. If this is true one could understand that the authors are arguing against this
liberalization nation-wide, as it does negatively affect surf tourism’s sustainability in Fiji,
the subject of their study for this article. It could also raise a question, however, of surf
tourism’s sustainable impact on Fiji as a whole, if a policy the government believes will
help its country must be protested for surf tourism to continue. This is not the aim of this
paper so that issue will be left alone, but further inquiry into this question could provide
more clarity on surf tourism’s possible impact on Fiji specifically. To relate “Liberalizing
Nirvana...” to Costa Rica, the beaches of Nosara and Avellana seem to have similar
liberalized economic policy. There is no charge to walk onto the beaches and surf any
break one would wish to, though Nosara is a part of the Ostional National Wildlife
Refuge, the policies of which aim to protect beaches and breaks from the building of
infrastructure. These policies can go unheeded, however, so the issue may be in

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enforcement rather than policy. While hotels do profit from sustaining their beaches and
breaks, a future of increased tourism to these unregulated, public destinations could
feasibly see environmental degradation due to a tragedy of the commons affect. Costa
Rica’s economic and socio-political policy differ from Fiji’s, so, transferring Ponting and
O’Brien’s FASST to it, moving away from Neo-Liberal management systems and proper
enforcement could sensibly address that potential future degradation.
Long Term Planning and Acknowledging Limits of Growth
Ponting and O’Brien claim a lack of planning of Fijian surf tourism (Ponting and
O’Brien, 2014, p. 10) can be shown in the reaction of the surfing community, especially
at the World Championship Tour. “Overcrowding is an issue. If you travel around the
world and there’s 30 or 40 guys in the water, it really takes away from the experience”
(Ponting and O’Brien, 2014, p.10). The president of the Fiji Surfing Association
possesses a “more is better’ approach... [which contradicts] empirical research that... in
the case of surf tourism, more is in fact considerably worse.” (Ponting and O’Brien, 2014,
p. 10) The evidence put foreword in this article sufficiently shows the positive influence a
long-term plan acknowledging limits of growth can have in sustaining surfing
destinations. If a destination decides that surf tourism, or tourism in general, should be a
large part of it’s economy and culture then it is, at a minimum, the responsibility of the
powers that be to its people to present a plan to sustain that economy for the future.
Nosara and Avellana, while more liberalized economically, have a lot of local support in
sustaining for the future. Outside of Nosara’s inclusion in the Wildlife Refuge, local
businesses such as the Harmony Hotel and Olas Verdes Hotel make a commitment to
sustainability for many generations to come. Costas Verdes, a local non-profit is

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Dr. Leon Mach
attempting to bring back the coastal forests and keep them thriving. Costa Rica’s Blue
Flag program awards companies, residencies, and even beaches for sustainability efforts.
Costa Rica is highly focused on long term plans for sustainability. If it wants its surf
tourism industry to continue on, rather than divert to another destination, plans to keep
limits on growth should be visited as well. As important as environmental sustainability
is for surf tourism, so is maintaining its reputation for uninhabited waves.
Systematic Attempts to Foster Cross-Cultural Understanding
The third criteria of Ponting and O’Brien’s FASST is about furthering cultural
understanding and mixing on all sides. They state that this cross-cultural understanding
will “encourage destination communities to define their own involvement in surf tourism,
ensure engagement with destination communities, and develop backward linkages into
the broadest possible range of economic sectors.” (Ponting and O’Brien, 2014, p. 11) As
a generality, local involvement will usually always equate to greater and more efficient
sustainability efforts. Locals will naturally have a better understanding of the
destination’s culture, environment, and economy, and will have a better chance at
enacting successful policies to sustain them, while allowing the inclusion of a new,
tourist culture. On the other hand, the tourists and tourism companies coming in must be
open to the culture of where they visit, and to the merging of ideas with the locals, so the
industry is adequately set up for sustainable success for all involved. The Harmony Hotel
is a great example of this local involvement. Though the owners were Americans who
opened it in Costa Rica, the staff is made up of 99% Costa Rican citizens. This allows all
issues that arise to be handled by someone who may have a better understanding of local
issues and how to fix them. This also allows for as much possible income gained by

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employees to stay in the local economy, further helping the destination have control of
the industry within its own borders.
Village-Level Sport Development
The development of surfing as a sport in destination countries further allows those
countries to control their own industry, and aid their own citizen’s lives as well. Ponting
and O’Brien added this criterion after “noting community development benefits brought
to Papua New Guinea communities through the development... [of the] sport at the
village level... benefits including diverting youth from criminal activity, empowering
women, [and] facilitating youth participation in surf tourism management” (Ponting and
O’Brien, 2014, p. 12). Safari Surf is a surfing school in Costa Rica with ties to the Olas
Verdes Hotel. Our instructor on our day there was a young man whose age is estimated
around 15-17. He had been surfing for 5 years and trained by Safari Surf as an ISA level
1 surf instructor and a certified lifeguard. With those certifications he may continue to
pursue a career as a surfing instructor, at home or abroad, one day branch out to start his
own business, or many other possibilities he wouldn’t have without the development of
the sport at the local level. At the young age he and some of his colleagues are at, he has
a potential career in his country’s surf tourism industry, and he is learning business skills
as well that can continue to propel him foreword. Further structured efforts to foster the
sport at a local level can increase participation and the amount of local’s put in a position
to succeed in the surf tourism industry in Costa Rica, while also helping the surf tourism
industry succeed itself. With more locals involved, more would lend help to
implementing sustainable surf tourism practices.

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Dr. Leon Mach
Contribution to Poverty Alleviation
The fifth criteria set forth by Ponting and O’Brien deals with aiding the local
community out of poverty. This criterion is affected by all four of the previous ones
working together. They point out that poverty is a “central concern of surf tourism
destination countries” (Ponting and O’Brien, 2014, p. 13). Adapting Scheyvens and
Russell’s adaptation of a framework for anti-poverty tourism on resort impact on poverty
alleviation, Ponting and O’Brien state three conditions that structure the fifth element of
the FASST. “The first is opportunity... a living wage for full-time staff, opportunities for
progression... and development of backward linkages into other economic sectors. The
second is empowerment... training for staff, respect for culture and traditions, support for
indigenous business ownership, and development and participation in decision-making.
The third is security... job security, medical benefits, environmental [and] economic
resilience, contribution to community groups and respect for traditional property rights
where [appropriate]” (Ponting and O’Brien, 2014, p. 13). By allowing for and fostering
the first four criteria, poverty alleviation can begin to take shape. Local employment and
involvement in the sport will aid the economy. Cross cultural understanding on both sides
will lead to better policy change to further aid poverty alleviation. Planning with limits on
industry growth will ensure the industry wont collapse on itself due to it’s own
claustrophobic nature, while de-liberalizing surf spots can help ensure the environment
stays around to host surf tourism as well.
Costa Rica can consider its surf tourism industry fairly sustainable. It falls in line,
or is attempting to, with a lot of the needs put forth by Ponting and O’Brien. With many
of the business entities in the local community striving for sustainability environmentally,

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economically, and culturally, and a large local workforce employed, seemingly securely,
they are attempting to ensure economic and cultural protection. While certain beaches
and breaks are still liberalized, the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge is a great start at
keeping the environment intact. Long-term plans for surf tourism including limits on
growth will help keep surfer’s coming back year after year.
There are a few ideas that could aid efforts even further, the most important
starting with an overhaul of policy enforcement strategies. The Wildlife Refuge is only a
great start since not all of the stipulations are followed. Zoning laws are ignored and
business growth still happens in areas considered off-limits. Either an upgraded police
force, or a force specifically for the Wildlife Refuge could go a long way in ensuring that
its efforts bear their own fruits. Future plans with limits on growth could include a cap on
resorts or hotel/hostel style establishments. Keeping a cap on tourists in the country can
go a long way in limiting the amount of surfers and tourists on breaks and beaches. This
would also mean the growth rate of the infrastructure of the areas could be controlled and
not explode too suddenly. Another strategy could be building up other beaches gradually
to spread tourism out more than just at the surfing hot spots. Costa Rica seems to have a
good start towards sustaining Surf Tourism, and a few key changes in policy and
enforcement could go a long way in furthering its life cycle.

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Dr. Leon Mach
Works Cited
Ponting, Jess, and Danny O'Brien. "Liberalizing Nirvana: an analysis of the
consequences of common pool resource deregulation for the sustainability of Fiji's surf
tourism industry." Journal of Sustainable Tourism 22.3 (2014): 384-402.