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Education
Costa Rica’s best prospects are somewhat better educated than other Canadian international pleasure travelers. For instance, 21.1% have attended or completed graduate school, compared with 17.1% of other travelers. More than half (53.6%) hold undergraduate degrees, compared with 44.9% of other travelers.
Income
Costa Rica’s best prospects tend to be fairly affluent. For instance, 33.9% have annual household incomes of C$100,000 or more, compared with 16.1% of Canadian adults. Nearly one in four best prospects (23.4%) have incomes of C$100,000 to C$149,999, and another 10.5% have incomes of C$150,000 or more.
Like most Canadian travelers, Costa Rica’s best prospects tend to be cost-conscious travelers; 46.3% agree strongly or mostly with the statement “I tend to watch costs carefully while traveling outside of Canada,” and another 32.5% agree somewhat.
Age and Retirement Status
Costa Rica’s best prospects tend to be somewhat younger than Canadian international pleasure travelers as a whole. Eight in 10 (80.0%) are under the age of 55, and more than half (53.8%) are under the age of 45. Travelers ages 45 to 54 have the highest propensity for interest in travel to Costa Rica, an index of 134.
In keeping with their younger age, only 15.5% of Costa Rica’s best prospects are retired, compared with 35.2% of other Canadian international pleasure travelers.
Household Composition
Couples comprise a core component of Costa Rica’s potential market; 73.7% of its best prospects are part of a couple, either by marriage (53.9%) or by living with a partner (19.8%). The remaining 26.3% are single (never been married, divorced, separated, or widowed). One in four best prospects (26.4%) has children under 18. Moreover, international travel with children is becoming more common among Canadians.
The vast majority of best prospects with children under 18 (85.8%) say they would be likely to bring their children on an international sun and sand trip. Nearly two-thirds (64.1%) would be likely to bring their children on a general sightseeing trip, and 59.4% would be likely to bring them on an outdoor activity trip. More than a third of Costa Rica’s best prospects with children under 18 (35.5%) did in fact bring their children along on their most recent international trip.
Language
Nearly all of Costa Rica’s best prospects (95.4%) speak English, and 40.4% speak French. Within the province of Quebec, of course, French is the dominant language; 97.9% of best prospects from Quebec speak French. Moreover, the majority (87.0%) of best prospects from Quebec prefer to communicate in French, despite the fact that most of them (88.8%) also speak English. Only 12.3% of Costa Rica’s best prospects speak Spanish. Moreover, very few (3.9%) claim ancestral ties to Spain or Latin America. However, the ability to speak Spanish differs widely by province; it is highest in Quebec (19.8%).
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Travel to Costa Rica 
