Sustainable Tourism Norm Transfer and the Case of Monteverde, Costa Rica

Tourism is of economic importance, but can be very damaging to the natural and human environments at destinations that tourists choose to visit. A solution for this issue is to guide touristic businesses towards more sustainable forms of operation. International organizations may promote sustainable tourism at small destinations via norm transfer, but is this process successful? What motivates it? This thesis examines how norms related to sustainable tourism are transferred from the international level to destination-level businesses in the tourism sector, and whether the transfer process is purely social or influenced by material gains. A case study, carried out in Monteverde, Costa Rica, supports the notion that, at least at this destination, sustainable tourism norms may be transferred due to the socialization of the actors involved, and that material motivators like certification programs do not affect whether or not businesses adopt norms related to sustainable tourism