OVER 1M TOURISTS HIT PANAMA WITHIN FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 2008
November 03, 2008
The PTA found that the most popular tourist groups to Panama were from the USA, Mexico, Central America, Europe and Asia.
Ana Royo, president of the Association of Tour Operators of Panama, said that her organisation was also recording a rise in European and Asian tourists heading to the country. "The interest in Panama is emerging,” she said. “Tourists already requested in combination with other destinations such as Mexico, Guatemala and Central America."
Explaining the rise in tourist numbers from Europe, Carl-Fredrik Nordstrom, administrator in charge of the PTA, said the increase in passenger numbers is a result of a “steady and sustained advocacy having been done for the last two years”.
Earlier this year, as part of the Sustainable Tourist Development Master Plan of Panama 2007 – 2020, Panama’s Minister of Tourism, Rubin Blades, travelled to Europe to negotiate with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, KLM and Lufthansa for more direct flights to Panama in an effort to diversify away from the US and increase the number of European tourists visiting the country.
Nordstrom added: "In October they [government ministers] will campaign in Holland, specifically in Amsterdam and Rotterdam; in November, they will have buses in London to coincide with the World Travel Market Fair; and in November and December it will be done in New York, where besides buses, they will also advertise on taxis.”
Reassured by the work put in by the government to ensure Panama’s long-term sustainability as a residential tourism destination, Irish hotelier Xavier McAuliffe, owner of the Spectra Group, revealed that his company is planning to enter the overseas property market for the first time by building the X-Tower, a 41-storey 240 unit residential project in Panama City.
The company, which specialises in photo processing, already has a number of hotel projects throughout Ireland, and will launch the X-Tower and another project in Cape Town, South Africa at this year’s National Association of Realtors (NAR) Conference in Orlando, Florida later this week.
Source OPP