‘… Latin America without the downside’: racial exceptionalism and global tourism in Costa Rica

Abstract

In this paper I address how the ideology of Costa Rican exceptionalism and whiteness has maintained racial inequality with the growth of global tourism. Whereas scholars of whiteness in Latin America typically ignore how the ideology has supported racial inequality in structural forms, I explore how discursive racial discourses influence how structural inequality practices in the tourism industry take form. I examine the narratives and symbols from public and private Costa Rican tourism actors who use Costa Rica's racial ideology of exceptionalism and whiteness to position the nation's cultural wealth. Two narratives to define Costa Rica are promoted: (1) environmental uniqueness; and (2) rural democracy traditions. These narratives support white inclusionary and black exclusionary practices in tourism economic activity. Because Costa Rica is perceived as ‘white’ and represents a ‘white habitus’, it distinguishes itself as a ‘democratic’ and ‘safe’ place to visit, while negatively racialized Afro-Costa Rican locations in the southern Atlantic coast are framed as ‘dangerous’ or ‘different’ and non-representative of the exceptional characteristics.