Lisette Acosta Alvarez
Company: LAA Consultora
Position: Senior Strategic Advisor in Tourism Investment, Sustainability, and Experience Economy
Bio
Lisette Acosta is a leading Hospitality Investment Advisor in Latin America. She has more than 20 years of experience across tourism, real estate, and investment strategy.
She focuses on structuring hospitality and mixed-use projects, aligning destination intelligence, financial feasibility, and execution to create bankable assets. Her expertise includes hospitality real estate advisory, tourism infrastructure investment, and foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction.
As former Tourism Infrastructure Sector Manager at CINDE, Lisette led the development of strategies to attract international investors to Costa Rica’s hospitality and real estate sectors. Moreover, she has worked with developers, family offices, institutional investors, and global hotel brands. She has contributed across Latin America and beyond.
Her approach integrates sustainability, experience design, and data-driven decision-making. It incorporates emerging trends such as AI in hospitality, wellness tourism, and regenerative development.
Lisette is recognized for bridging the gap between concept and execution. She ensures projects are not only visionary but also financially viable. In addition, her projects are operationally coherent and aligned with global market demand.
ons on Tourism 4.0, AI in hospitality, and investment readiness in emerging destinations.
Mission Statement
To transform tourism and hospitality projects into investment-ready, high-impact assets by aligning strategy, design, sustainability, and execution.
Lisette’s mission is to help destinations and developers move from concept to certainty, enabling capital to flow through projects that are:
- Strategically positioned
- Financially viable
- Operationally coherent
- Environmentally and socially responsible
She believes the future of the industry lies in the integration of experience, data, and technology, where AI and advanced analytics enhance decision-making but do not replace authentic, well-designed human experiences.
Geographic Areas
- Central America (primary focus: Costa Rica)
- Latin America & Caribbean
- Select advisory and collaboration projects in Europe
- Cross-border investment structuring with North American and European stakeholders
Expertise
Investment & Development
- Hospitality real estate advisory
- Tourism infrastructure investment
- Foreign direct investment (FDI) strategy
- Investment attraction & investor relations
- Asset positioning for institutional capital
Strategy & Feasibility
- Highest & Best Use (HBU) analysis
- Pre-feasibility & feasibility studies
- Market intelligence & demand analysis
- Investment memorandums & underwriting alignment
Project Structuring & Execution
- Concept development & product-market fit
- Operator & brand strategy (LOIs, negotiations)
- Development coordination & project alignment
- Risk mitigation & regulatory navigation
Sustainability & Experience Economy
- Sustainable and regenerative tourism models
- ESG integration in hospitality projects
- Experience design for higher asset value
- Wellness and nature-based hospitality
Innovation & AI in Hospitality
- AI applications in tourism operations and strategy
- Data-driven decision making in hospitality investments
- Technology integration aligned with experience design
- Tourism 4.0 frameworks
Professional Memberships
- International Society of Hospitality Consultants
- Advisory and board-level participation in tourism and investment-related institutions
- Collaboration with multidisciplinary teams including architecture, engineering, legal, and environmental specialists
Speaking Engagements
Lisette Acosta is a frequent speaker at industry events, investment forums, and executive workshops, focusing on the intersection of tourism, investment, and innovation.
Recent and recurring topics include:
- Tourism 4.0: The future of the visitor economy
- From tourism to “visitor economy”: redefining value creation
- Structuring hospitality projects for investment readiness
- The “certainty gap” in Latin American investments
- AI in hospitality: strategy before tools
- Sustainable tourism as a driver of ROI
- Aligning destination, experience, and asset performance
Has participated in regional and international forums such as:
- CRET Summit
- Hospitality investment conferences across Latin America
- Private investor and developer roundtables
- Executive workshops with industry stakeholders
