In the mid 20th century, Golfito was a major banana growing region (also
resulting in it being the major port of southern Costa Rica), but a combination
of worker unrest, declining foreign markets, rising export taxes and banana
disease led to the closing of the United Fruit Company in 1985. African palm
oil plantations replaced all the old banana plantations and, due to its
success, more and more land is devoted to grow this palm. A small flow of
tourists began to arrive in the mid-1990s, and by mid-2006 sport fishing has
become the most important tourist attraction. The Duty Free Shopping Centre
(Deposito Libre
