On Monday, Costa Rica printed a controversial law in its official publication, La Gaceta, that could open the door to gay marriage.

The measure, a reform of the country’s Young Persons Law, modifies part of the code covering civil unions, or what could be called common-law marriages, between those who have been co-habitating for three or more years. It outlines “the recognition of the right, without discrimination contrary to human dignity, to social and hereditary benefits of civil unions.”

“In all of the countries where the union of gay people has been sanctioned, there has been a significant increase in tourism spending. Gay people have high purchasing power, they don’t have children (usually), they don’t have families apart from themselves and therefore the amount they spend on tourism is immense,” said Boris Marchegiani, president of Protur.

Protur is an organization of small and medium sized tourism operators in Costa Rica who have come together to get their voices heard and the best interests of local businesses taken care of in political and legal situations.

Prensalibrecr.com reports: “Gay tourists are coveted among local businessmen, as the level of spending is more than double that of heterosexual honeymooners, who until recently were those who spent the most.”

The area of Costa Rica where this type of tourism has been fostered the most is in the South Pacific part of the country around Manuel Antonio, where there are hotels devoted to same-sex couples. According to hoteliers the profits generated from allowing same sex unions would re-energize the tourism sector across Costa Rica.