Costa Mar's eco-lodges face federal labour audit as federal standards tighten

The sound of hammering and sawing echoes through the hillside lodges north of Puerto Azul on a humid Wednesday morning. Workers are installing new time-clock systems, updating payroll records, and preparing accommodation logs—all part of a scramble to meet new federal labour compliance standards that take effect in September. The Costa Mar Tourism Cooperative, which represents forty-three small and mid-sized eco-lodges, estimates that compliance will cost its members between three thousand and eight thousand florins per establishment in the first year.

The federal initiative, announced by Civic Affairs Minister Beatriz Coelho in May, mandates that all tourism operators in the Republic document their employment practices, verify workers' identities and residency status, and maintain transparent wage records. The move follows a series of reports by human-rights organisations alleging that some Caribbean and Central American tourism operators—including a handful in Costa Mar—had hired undocumented workers at below-minimum wages.

The audit regime is not unique to Costa Mar, but the region's economy makes it particularly consequential. Tourism accounts for roughly thirty-seven percent of the region's GDP, and the sector depends on a seasonal labour pool that swells during the dry-season peak. Many workers are migrants from Tierra Verde and Oriente Moderno, drawn by wage premiums and the promise of tips from international visitors.

Captain Andrés Morales, who runs a dive cooperative based in Puerto Azul, sees the audit as overdue. His operation already maintains detailed records and pays workers above the federal minimum. "When you have bad actors in your market, they undercut everyone," he said in an interview at his office. "The audit makes the playing field level."