The people will still bring in plenty of money into the local economy

This ^^^. It’s essentially cash flow towards the country, part of which is spent locally. It’s pretty much tourism on steroids.

And, to make it work, they need to make it very attractive.

and it's tourism in the off-season.

I think it's more like a steady drip feed. I moved abroad, and I spend less than a tourist once I figured out how locals generally do it, but still considerably more than a local because I want to eat foods from other countries and get a nice coffee most days.

And they can always tax again later.

And they have to compete with other countries.

It’s possible that this means no employer taxes either, which shields the employing company from having to set up a local tax entity, which is otherwise a huge barrier for US FAANG-type employees as I understand it. I know that I can’t work from any other countries currently, and I’m curious if these types of visas/arrangements would remove that barrier.

The other two big barriers which can apply are company taxation (if I am a director/senior manager of a company is there a risk that the Company could become tax resident in Costa Rica?) and regulation (is there a risk that I am doing something illegal in Costa Rica because either I or the Company don't have any local regulatory permission?).

(There is also a company tax issue which I don't think this type of thing can solve, which is the risk of the tax residency or tax status of the Company in its home jursidiction or third countries relying on directors/senior managers physically being located in the home jurisdiction).

a new startup called "Remote", reached unicorn status, is solving this issue by having all these entities set up on behalf of their clients.

If countries do stuff like this tho, it would actually undermine.

really hope to see other countires follow suit.

This would be interesting if it is the case - you remain a tax resident in and employed by a company in your home country, but you live elsewhere. No idea if such a thing is possible. International tax laws are beyond me!

It's all about local jobs. The official unemployment rate is 20%, reality is likely significantly higher.