The Costa Rican government was a pioneer in this field by proposing a strategic plan for sustainable tourism development in the 1990s. The creation of national parks was very quickly perceived as an excellent way to reconcile environmental conservation and tourism. Today, Costa Rica has 149 protected areas, including 3 on the UNESCO World Heritage list, which alone cover 25% of the country's land area and are home to nearly 5% of the planet's biodiversity!
In 1997, the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism established the CST, an ecolabel that rewards tourism actors committed to the development of sustainable tourism.