Visitors to Panama Think Bikini...Not Briefcase
Date: 06/14/2007Tourism is beating out business in Panama according to local daily La Prensa. Although statistics from Panama's Tocumen International Airport traditionally showed business as the number one reason foreigners travel here, 2006 reports indicate that tourism grew some 16% over the previous year. Some 56% of those who entered Panama in 2006 were here on vacation-the "purest" form of tourism according to the World Tourism Organization.
The numbers: Of the 671,182 people who flew into Panama last year, 373,177 were here in pursuit of beach, ecological, historic and cultural experiences. Business and investment travelers amounted to just 207,395-about 31% of all air entries for 2006. A smaller percentage of visitors-just over 40,270, or 6%-came to Panama for conventions, meetings, or expos, while some 30,203 visitors (nearly 4.5%) flew in because of family ties.
Panama's Tourism Institute (IPAT), said that the nation's burgeoning real estate market and reputation as a world-class retirement haven contributed to positive publicity and the resulting increase in tourism. The IPAT was granted $39.5 million by the National Economic Council (CENA) in March to promote Panama as a tourism destination. Since then the IPAT, along with other Panamanian institutions, has promoted Panama in many ways-from commercials filmed by Panamanian music legends Danilo Perez and Ruben Blades (also Minister of Tourism)-to participation in fairs and expos such as the World Travel Market in London last month.
To better serve tourists, Panama has a specialized Tourism Police Force, with Panama City offices in the Casco Viejo or "old city" neighborhood. Also, el programa de señalización turística, or "signs for tourism" program was implemented this year to make it easier for tourists to find their way around the city (and rural areas, too). The first signs were installed in the Ancon district in March, and point the way to popular destinations in the area, such as the Amador Causeway, the Panama-Colon railroad station, the Marcos Gelabert domestic airport and the Great Transport Terminal.
The Panamanian Hotel Association (APATEL) and other local institutions have implemented special tourism training programs to prepare for increases in tourism, and the Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) has chosen Panama as the site of its first hotel and hospitality school in Latin America-the Holiday Inn Hotel and School Panama Canal.
Best Regards,
Jessica Ramesch
Editor, Panama Insider
International Living
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