'Sostenibilidad' in action- MU goes to Costa Rica

In addition to internships and exchange semesters that can be taken abroad, MODUL University also offers shorter duration ‘Study Tours’ to far-flung places around the globe. This February during the semester break, Asst. Professors Irem Önder and Ulrich Gunter led 15 students to Costa Rica to expand their horizons. The educational tour included two classes: Ecotourism Management, and Sustainable Tourism in Developing Countries, both of which are offered at the BBA and MSc levels.

In Costa Rica students had the chance to observe ecotourism and sustainability initiatives on location, comprising field trips to national parks, agricultural and research facilities and indigenous communities, as well as other hands on activities, lectures and discussions.

The lessons included presentations by Virgilio Espinoza Rodriguez, a member of Certificate for Sustainable Tourism (CST) committee, who discussed the process of how a business can get certification, and by Dr. Eliécer Vargas, a member on the Board of the Costa Rican National Chamber of Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism (CANAECO), who explained sustainability from the perspective of the private tourism sector.

Beginning in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, the study group visited the Poas Volcano, the second highest active volcano in the country which is home to six active volcanoes and another 61 dormant or extinct ones. The following day, the tour continued with the visit to Cahuita National Park bordering the Caribbean, where the students observed sloths, raccoons, spiders, howler monkeys and capuchin monkeys in their natural habitat.

In addition to seeing the natural beauty of Costa Rica, students also had the opportunity to meet its people and experience their traditional way of life. During their stay with the indigenous Bribri community, they learned about organic farming of cacao plans, how to make chocolate, how to use a bow and arrow for hunting, and how to use palm leaves for making roofs.

Giving firsthand insight into this largely farming society, Daisy, their Bribri guide, explained the life in the community, the women’s association they created, how they started catering to selected ecotourists, the conservation of the Bribri culture, and the nature of the surrounding area.

The next stop on the tour was a two-night stay at La Selva Biological Research Center, and a visit to the country’s famed rain forests before their last stop at Laguna del Lagarto Lodge, an ecolodge close to the town of Pital. The owner of the ecolodge gave a presentation about the CST and the issues related to it for small hotels.

The tour concluded back in San Jose after 10 incredible days of travelling around Costa Rica and experiencing how sustainable tourism and ecotourism management is implemented in Costa Rica. In addition to creating lifelong memories, students were able evaluate the difference between theory and practice firsthand.