Market Report: Costa Rica
From funding the Centro Nacional de la Música and public festivals like Envision, which boost the economy, to supporting local artists by offering grants and subsidies, it’s clear that the Costa Rican government prioritises investing in the growth of its cultural capital whilst still attracting the likes of Ricky Martin and Paul McCartney.
Primary ticketing
The key ticketing services in Costa Rica include eticket, La Tiquetera, Passline, Publitickets, and Special Ticket.
Eticket, supported by BAC Credomatic banking service, is the primary ticketing system for entertainment in Costa Rica. It offers comprehensive sales reports, event advertising, and on-site ticket sales support for event organisers. For fans, eticket provides the option to purchase tickets online, collect them in person, or buy them directly at the box office.
Passline’s platform allows organisers and promoters to publish events, record real-time sales, and customise landing pages for free. It also provides the ability to send mass emails to customers and offers multiple payment options and self-service kiosks for ticket and merchandise sales.
Distribution of sales
Digital ticket sales have become increasingly popular, accounting for over 70% of event tickets sold in many Latin American regions. Despite this, many Costa Rican ticketing services still offer physical tickets.
Secondary ticketing
Ticket reselling is permitted, with transactions occurring through authorised and unauthorised means. Platforms like Special Ticket and Passline allow customers to resell tickets, while secondary market sites such as Viagogo and StubHub are commonly used for resales.
Additionally, ticket resales occur through social media and online marketplaces, such as craigslist Costa Rica.
Taxes & charges
The tax rate in Costa Rica is 13%, and each ticketing platform charges a service fee in addition to tax, though the specific percentage is unspecified.
Country Profile: Costa Rica
“Costa Rica has become the epicentre of live entertainment in all of Central America,” says Andrés Guanipa, MD of Move Concerts Costa Rica.
Seeing a swift increase in tours and shows in the country since the industry rebooted in 2022, Costa Rica has been a hotspot for international tours in the two years since.
This past year, Move Concerts hosted two record-breaking shows from reggaeton superstar Karol G – selling an incredible 104,686 tickets across two National Stadium shows – and is set to bring Paul McCartney in November. Other stars that came through in 2024 include Louis Tomlinson, Interpol, and Young Miko.
Costa Rica is occasionally the only stopover on tours hitting both North and South America. Though the national population sits at just over 5m people, the country is becoming an increasingly popular entertainment tourist destination – evidenced by 5,000 foreign visitors for last December’s Roger Waters show, Guanipa says – making it a key growth sector.
“There is great potential with foreign visitors when the tours do not extend their shows into other Central American countries.”
“[The capital city] San José has significant hotel and services capacity, ready and willing to accommodate even more visitors than it is already receiving,” says Guanipa. “There is great potential with foreign visitors when the tours do not extend their shows into other Central American countries.”
Although the touring market is hot, promoters are challenged by a lack of indoor venues under 10,000 capacity – “certainly an issue in a country where it rains most of the year,” Guanipa says, and by an oversaturation of events.
“It’s crucial to carefully evaluate which events to bring and which [to not bring], as our audience has a finite economic capacity,” he says.
In addition to Move Concerts, other national promoters are grouped under CAPEMA (Costa Rican Chamber of Mass Event Promoters) and include the Interamericana de Producciones, RPMTV, Primo Entertainment, SD Concerts, Blackline, BLieve, ARE Entertainment, and Jogo.
Arena Market: Costa Rica
In Central America, Costa Rica has become a must-stop destination for international artists touring between South America, Mexico, and the United States. Parque Viva, the country’s leading arena and entertainment facility, has plans to draw even more artists and fans to the biodiverse nation.
Located 20 minutes outside of the capital city of San José, Parque Viva boasts a racetrack, a 19,000-capacity amphitheatre, and a 14,000-cap event centre, making the complex configurable for all kinds of events. With a massive plot of disused land directly next to its current facilities, general manager Pedro Abreu reveals a massive new entertainment district for the country is on its way.
“This could be a game-changer for the country,” he says. “The country is very well-known for its tourism, nature, and beaches. We have a lot of tourism from all over the world, especially the United States and Europe, but we also want to welcome our neighbours.
“If we have this event district, our neighbours from Central America or South America can come and enjoy a concert, then go to the beaches or the volcanoes or everything else Costa Rica has to offer.”
The first step in the plan’s execution is to facilitate stronger transport links, with direct highway access goals to be finalised by next year. Once connected, Abreu says the expansion project will hopefully begin in Q4 2025. Future endeavours could also include a new stadium, designed with music specifically in mind as opposed to the sports-purposed existing stadiums, but no formal plans have been announced.
“We have a culture that people like to go and see live events.”
Costa Rica is certainly hungry for live music, with Coldplay kicking off their latest global trek with two nights at the national stadium in 2022 and Karol G selling a record- breaking 104,686 tickets for her two March stadium shows.
Parque Viva hosted a record 31 concerts in 2023, including Louis Tomlinson, Steve Aoki, Interpol, Air Supply, and a raft of Latin and Mexican acts.
The only roofed venue of its size, Abreu says the indoor portion of Parque Viva is set apart from its competitors as it can host shows during Q3 and Q4 when the country is primarily waterlogged. For concerts with capacities between 3,000-19,000, he estimates that it hosts up to 85% of the shows in the nation.
Though Costa Rica is challenged by a lack of indoor venues and a steep entertainment tax – more than one-third of ticket sales go to taxes and copyrights, one of the highest in the region – the fan desire to see live music of every calibre has only heightened.
“We have a culture that people like to go and see live events. Culture here is to go and see those artists and to spend money on events of that quality,” he says.