Tourism’s Impact on Local Businesses in Rural Costa Rica

Last week, we headed to Cayuga Collection’s Senda Hotel in Monteverde. We hosted a visit by a well-known and respected local journalist Rodolfo Gonzalez. He is the producer and host of the Monday night prime time report called “7 Dias”.

The goal of the visit was to document the impact that rural tourism in Costa Rica has on related businesses and the social and economic impact of this value chain. The report will air on Costa Rica’s Canal 7 in early November.

Here is the link to the documentary: https://www.teletica.com/7-dias/monteverde-los-nacionales-al-rescate_272972

Rodolfo and his team interviewed several employees of Senda and asked about how they felt about living and working in Monteverde.

Rachel, one of our housekeepers, was among the first employees that Senda hired upon opening in 2018. She was excited to share her story about living and working in Monteverde with the journalists from San Jose.

We then went on to visit local businesses in Monteverde like Stellas’s Coffee Shop and talked to local tour guides. We even did a guided night hike in the Aguti Reserve that is adjacent to the Senda Hotel.

But the highlight was a visit to a local cheesemaker. Bernal Villegas, a former bank employee who was born and raised in Monteverde started a small cheese-making business a couple of years ago. He shared his story with Rodolfo.