Abstract

Amenity-oriented migration of mainly retired North Americans to destinations in Latin America is  a  relatively  new  but  rapidly  expanding  mobility  that,  amongst  others,  induces  an  interesting array of political claims and practices. Unlike economic migrants, the predominantly wealthy and often  economically  successful  amenity  migrants  possess  resources  to  participate  in  local  and regional  development;  additionally,  they  have  the  know-how  to  initiate  and  activate  political networks. The article discusses recent trends of lifestyle-oriented mobilities to Latin America and aims at developing a conceptual framework to analyse the role foreigners can play in the negotiation  of  strategies  for  local  and  regional  development.  Regime  analysis,  a  particular  way  to  conceive  governance,  is  used  as  a  tool  to  consider  the  possibilities  and  problems  arising  from  lifestyle  mobilities  to  Latin  America,  as  specified  through  the  empirical  debate  regarding  planning conflicts in a recently established retirement destination in northern Costa Rica.

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