Panama Tourism Performance Dazzles

2011-05-26

Under the global economic recovery of last year (2010), 1.68 million tourists visited Panama. The hotel occupancy rate of the capital city, Panama City, was 66.8%, an increase of 9%, compared to the average occupancy rate of 57.8% in 2009. Tourist spending increased by 13.0%, reaching 1.676 billion U. S. dollars. The Panama tourism bureau expects that the number of tourists visiting Panama this year (2011) will break 2 million. In January and February of this year, tourists arriving in Panama spent 309 million U. S. dollars, an increase of 8.2%, compared with 286 million U. S. dollars of the same period last year. Additionally, the Tourism Bureau said that they would launch the Connect the World Program to promote Panama’s international tourism. An estimated 4 million U. S. dollars will be spent on advertising this year marketing Panama to attract foreign tourists. The Bureau will also spend a budget of one million U. S. dollars to launch the Knowing Inland program, promoting tourism to Panama citizens to visit inner provinces, including beaches, mountains, cultures, religions and outdoor adventures.