The Panamanian government's optimistic projections are based on the publicity that finally began this year at the international level, with the injection of $20 million into the Tourism Promotion Fund.
The campaign to promote Panama as a tourist destination in the main international markets began in November of this year and will be active for eight months.
As part of the new international advertising campaign, the tourism sector in Panama expects visitor arrivals to increase by 125,000 tourists per year, who could generate annual revenues of close to $100 million.
The "Panama Stopover" campaign aims to take advantage of the competitive advantages that the country has, encouraging tourists who are in transit in the country to include in their itinerary an extended stop, which could be up to seven days at no additional cost in the airfare.
According to entrepreneurs in the sector lack of promotion of the country is the reason why one million tourists came into the country between January and May of this year, 4% less than in the same period in 2017.
The Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) reported that 1,091,008 tourists arrived in the first five months of 2018, registering a fall of 3.8% in relation to the 1,134,573 visitors registered in the same period in 2017.
Between the first quarter of 2017 and the same period in 2018, the number of visitors that arrived in the country registered a slight decrease of 1.4%, but the overall expenditure made by them increased by 2.7%.
According to sector's figures, between the first quarter of 2017 and the same period of this year the number of tourists fell from 734,000 to 723,000, and the currencies received registered a slight increase, going from $302 million to $310 million.
In order to compensate for some of the decrease in the arrival of visitors from Colombia and Venezuela, Panamanian authorities have increased promotion in markets such as China, Canada and the USA.
The aim is to attract tourists with greater purchasing power, and to compensate for the reduction that for various reasons has been recorded in the entry of Colombian and Venezuelan tourists.According to the tourism authorities, in the case of Colombia, depreciation of the Colombian peso has had an affect, making Panama more expensive, and in the case of Venezuela, it is the political and economic crisis in the country.
It is estimated that about 40,000 tourists will come from the Asian country, and in 2019 this figure could rise to 200,000.
The arrival of Air China's first flight to Tocumen represents a new opportunity for tourism entrepreneurs in Panama to reactivate the sector and increase hotel occupancy, which has not exceeded 50% in recent years.
Granting insurance for a period of 15 days and limiting the scope to medical care are some of the changes that are being prepared to re-offer free medical insurance for tourists.
Previously the insurance covered up to 30 days for tourists entering through the international airport of Tocumen, but now the new proposal that is under study by the Tourism Authority would reduce the term to two weeks, which is the length of time that most tourists stay in the country.The benefit was implemented by the Martinelli administration in 2011 andcanceled three years later, due to its high cost.
The Tourism Authority is considering redeploying the benefit of free insurance for medical expenses for visitors, but adjusting the scope and term of the coverage.
Authorities are assessing the changes that would be needed in order to implement the free health insurance program for tourists once again, seeing as it was such a valuable promotional tool.The benefit was implemented by the Martinelli administration in 2011 andcanceled three years later, due to its high cost.
The number of visitors from North America who came into the country between January and July fell by 3% year on year, while the flow of European tourists grew by almost 7%.
In order to recover some lost ground in the US, Canadian and Mexican markets, an important part of international tourism promotion contract for the next two years will be run in North America.In the first months of the year the number of Canadian tourists who arrived in Panama fell by 27% compared to the same period in 2015, the flow of Mexican tourists fell nearly 5%.
Panama received 2.5 million tourists in 2015 and double the amount of foreign income received by Costa Rica from the 2.6 million who visited that country in the same year.
The number of tourists who went to Panama in 2015 exceeded by 10.7% the amount recorded in 2014, according to the Tourism Authority of Panama. With the 2.5 million who came last year, the country is very close to matching the record of Costa Rica, which reached 2.6 million.
In the first three months of the year, 92 thousand more tourists entries were recorded than in the same period in 2014, representing an increase of 13.8%.
From a statement issued by the Tourism Authority of Panama:
The entry of visitors into the country in the first three months of 2015 increased by 13.8% compared to the same period in 2014, according to official statistics provided by the Comptroller General of the Republic, to the Tourism Authority Panama (ATP).
In order to overcome the low hotel occupancy rates the private sector is proposing actions in logistics, infrastructure and urban planning; safety for tourists, domestic tourism and development of the country's brand image.
These six axes that govern the plan presented by the private sector aim to increase tourism in the country in the short term. It also includes topics such as the future convention center being built in Amador and signage and publicity of the most visited destinations.
As part of the strategy to attract tourism in 2015, Panama intends to consolidate the US market and improve its position as a hub and shopping destination for South American countries.
Panama wants to establish itself as the first tourist destination in the region, therefore the government will be promoting the country's potential by emphasizing the momentum it has in the United States, from where 25% of tourists visiting the Isthmus come from.
The Panama Tourism Authority reports that the contract with which it provided free medical insurance for tourists ended on June 30.
From now on if visitors in Panama want to have coverage for medical emergencies they must take out their own insurance.
From a statement issued by the Tourism Authority of Panama:
The Panama Tourism Authority wishes to communicate to visitors that are in the national territory and those having Panama as their destination, that the insurance contract for tourists expired on June 30, 2014 and is therefore terminated.
In Panama the increase in room supply has caused a price war between hotels trying to attract travelers and increase the occupancy rate which on average is not more than 60%.
Hotel occupancy in the country has been declining since 2011, when it stood at 68.6% dropping to 59.3% within the sector this year, according to figures from the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP).