Mindtrip for Business felt like it was tailor-made for us. The ability to harness interest in our stunning landscapes, vibrant culture and the pura vida spirit, and transform it into a journey curated for each traveler is game-changing. Meanwhile, managing it all in one platform is invaluable to the end user. We are confident that this partnership will inspire more people to discover the beauty and warmth of Costa Rica.

Carolina Trejos

Marketing Director, The Costa Rica Tourism Board

The Opportunity

The Costa Rica Tourism Board set out to rethink what digital trip planning could be — more intuitive, more engaging and better aligned with how today’s travelers explore and decide. This vision was part of a larger transformation strategy, including a complete website redesign led by the agency MMGY.

The goal? To modernize their website experience using AI that delivers relevant, timely and accurate recommendations — without the friction of traditional planning tools.

Key focus areas included:

Boosting engagement and retention (with a target 2% engagement rate — double the industry benchmark)

Driving referrals to local partners through contextually relevant suggestions

Capturing real-time behavioral data to inform future digital strategy

The Strategy

The Costa Rica Tourism Board embedded Mindtrip directly into the Visit Costa Rica website — turning it into a discovery engine, an itinerary builder and a source of real-time recommendations for travelers.

To reflect Costa Rica’s values, the AI prioritizes sustainability-certified lodging and supports multiple languages. It also pulls in trusted Google and TripAdvisor reviews to give travelers confidence without ever leaving the site.

The AI is embedded throughout the site in a way that feels natural and easy to use:

A persistent sidebar
Contextual prompts
Interactive text fields

The Impact

Travelers engaged with the AI naturally as they explored the site, and received personalized, real-time recommendations that made planning feel easy and enjoyable.  

Thanks to built-in social proof and multilingual support, users felt more confident, informed and included — regardless of their location.

The result? 

More time on site, deeper engagement and a stronger traveler connection.

In focus groups, users called the AI “faster, easier and more intuitive,” with many saying they’d use it as their “primary travel assistant.”

Looking Ahead

Costa Rica isn’t stopping here. With real-time user data and ongoing feedback, the Tourism Board is now using AI insights to:

Fine tune its digital marketing strategy
Enhance personalization across the platform
Deepen support for international and sustainability-focused travelers

With Mindtrip, Visit Costa Rica has become an essential, always-on travel companion — one that reflects the country’s commitment to innovation, sustainability and a better travel experience for everyone.