Costa Rica has a quarter of its land preserved through wildlife refuges, national parks, private resorts, and reserves, and its forests now occupy more than half of the country's surface, after many years of hard work to reverse the damage of years of deforestation. As a result, sustainable Costa Rica eco-tours have become quite popular in this country - one often regarded as one of the world's top ecotourism destinations and an ecotourism pioneer, that attracts over three million people each year to its lush rainforests, national parks, rumbling volcanoes and stunning beaches.