Through a shared publicity agreement between the ATP and AirPanama, promotion will made for the arrival of charter flights to Cocle airport with tourists from Costa Rica and Colombia.
As part of the agreement, the company AirPanama Vacaciones will market tour packages for the months of June, July and August, mid-season in the Panamanian tourism sector.
Tourism entrepreneurs have suggested setting up a border post in El Naranjo in order to encourage the arrival of international tourists coming from Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
The announcement of the possible construction of a coastal highway in the Pacific, represents an opportunity for entrepreneurs in the tourism sectorto further enhance the development of tourism in the area and also provide a route for foreign tourists arriving at the Liberia airport in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
The company's proposal states that in just two months it could start making tax
payments, putting to the test the responsiveness of bureaucracy against the speed of the real economy.
Airbnb, one of the leading global companies that is taking advantage of the momentum that the technological revolution has provided to the collaborative economy, has now created a housingsupply available for seasonal rental in Costa Rica which is equivalent to 18% of the supply of hotels.
Two months after the award of a $20 million contract for an international promotion strategy, the adjudicating company is still carrying out its analysis.
Once the company VML International has completed the contract review process, it must then be approved by the comptroller general, which could further delay its implementation.
The number of tourists who came into the country in the first half of 2016 increased by 1.2% compared to the same period in 2015.
It is hoped that this un-encouraging result will be reversed once the international marketing strategy starts, a project which was awarded to the American company VML Inc. and whosecontract was recently approved.
A $20 million contract has finally been approved for the company VML Inc. to develop a marketing and communication strategy to promote the country internationally.
The implementation of the international tourism promotion campaign will take place between 2016 and 2018, and will consist of a comprehensive promotion strategy, both online and using traditional advertising, public relations and trade marketing (activations) to promote Panama internationally.
Participating for the first time are Nicaragua and the United Arab Emirates as exhibitors, and buyers will be coming from Germany, Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Italy, Colombia and Sweden, and other places.
From a statement issued by the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (CCIAP):
International Tourism Expo, in its seventh version, will feature more than 150 exhibition booths, which will be displaying to national and international companies, working in different areas of tourism, in 3,000 m2 of the Atlapa Convention Center in the exhibition which will be held on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 May.
In light of the direct hiring of an international promotion for Panama, the business association is demanding transparency in the process and an award which is well-founded.
From a statement issued by the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama:
It has been almost two years since we recommended that authorities promptly make a strong investment in international promotion campaigns in order to attract visitors, to resolve mismatches in the performance of the tourism sector, due to an excess in the available supply of hotels and restaurants, among other goods and services.
The consortium of advertising agencies Team Tourism 16-17 Team won the contract to design and implement the internal tourism promotion campaign with a proposal of $4.5 million.
According to the evaluation committee, the consortium made up of the companies P4 Ogilvy, Cerebro Y & R and Nexos Grey submitted the best technical proposal and met all the requirements for creativity and experience requested by the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP).
After three years without any tourism marketing, the authority for the sector has announced that $10 million will be spent on international promotion, aside from the $5 million already being tendered in a domestic campaign.
The uneven internal and external promotion of tourism in Panama could have seen better days. The general manager of the Tourism Authority of Panama, Gustavo Him, announced in a statement that there will be a budget of $10 million for the international promotion, in addition to the $5 million for domestic tourism promotion.
The agencies BBDO, BB & M, and the consortia Team Tourism 16-17 and La Union Zaga submitted similar bids for $4.5 million to design and produce the country's tourism campaign.
From a statement issued by the Tourism Authority of Panama:
The Tourism Authority of Panama, held on Monday, March 28, tender act 2016-1-45-0-08-AV-008 805 to select an advertising agency to be in charge of the design and production of a national tourism advertising campaign.
After having canceled the first contest, there has now been a second postponement of the date for receipt of bids in the tourism promotion tender worth $5 million.
The tender to design and implement a campaign of domestic tourism promotion in Panama has in the past had its reference amounts changed, time limits and specifications changed, and the contest has even been declared void.
Viajes El Corte Ingles will be selling tourism products in El Salvador in its sales network in Spain and carrying out a promotional campaign from March 15 to October 31.
The agreement aims to increase the number of Spanish tourists visiting the country, which in 2015 was around 20,000. The promotion will be done through the marketing channels of the agency and will be reinforced by a campaign that will run until October 31, 2015.
The Tourism Authority will publish a new specification after the initial tender was declared void because the only bidders belonged to the same conglomerate.
The evaluation committee appointed by the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) has annulled the act of tendering design services and production of an advertising campaign, development of media plans, patterns in traditional and digital media and media monitoring in Panama.
At the request of the bidders the Tourism Authority has extended the deadline for submission of bids for the domestic tourism promotion campaign, until 12 February.
The agencies Publicuatro Ogilvy & Mather, Starcom MediaVest Group, Cerebro JCM Publicidad, R Publicidad/ BBDO, Nexos Publicidad and BBM Publicidad, who are interested in bidding for the right to develop the campaign to promote domestic tourism, have asked the Government for more time to prepare their proposals.