During the first month of the year, 215,607 visitors arrived to the country, a figure that is 18% less than the one reported for the same period in 2019.
The General Comptroller of the Republic reported that between January 2019 and the same month of 2020 48,696 tourists arrived to the country less, from 264,303 to 215,607 visitors. The report states that in the case of cruise ship passengers, the number increased by 130%, from 10,822 to 24,868.
Last year, hotels in Panama City reported an average daily occupancy of 4,571 rooms, 1% less than in 2018.
Reports from the General Comptroller of the Republic indicate that in December the daily average of occupied rooms did not register significant changes with respect to the same month last year, going from 4,307 to 4,281.
Between January and August 2019, approximately 1.5 million tourists arrived in Panama, generating revenues of close to $3,314 million, 1% less than the amount reported in the same period of 2018.
The most recent report of the General Comptroller of the Republic of Panama details that between the first eight months of 2018 and the same period of 2019, the expenditure made by tourists who arrived in the country decreased by $32 million, going from $3.346 million to $3.314 million.
In the 2019 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala fell back in the ranking, while the Dominican Republic was the only country that improved.
According to the report prepared by the World Economic Forum, during 2019 Costa Rica ranked 41 out of 140 countries. It was followed by Panama at box 47, the Dominican Republic at 73, Nicaragua at 91, Honduras at 94, Guatemala at 99 and El Salvador at 108.
During 2018, hotels in Panama City reported an average daily occupancy of 4,602 rooms, 7% less than in 2017.
The latest data from the General Comptroller of the Republic detail that only in December the daily average of occupied rooms registered a 5% drop compared to the same month last year, falling from 4,544 to 4,307.
At the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018, touristic companies in Nicaragua were reporting a good performance, but the political situation in the country has generated a crisis that is still unsolved.
In 2017, tourism generated $840 million in revenue for the Nicaraguan economy, 31% more than in 2016, growth that improved the companies' expectations at the beginning of the year, since in the first quarter of 2018 the forecasts were that by the end of this year revenues could reach $900 million.
In the first eight months of the year, Panama received 1.65 million tourists, 2% less than those reported in the same period in 2017.
According to the country's official figures, between the first eight months of 2017 and the period from January to August of this year, tourist arrivals fell from 1.69 million to 1.65 million. This negative behavior strengthens the trend that has shown throughout the year.
In accordance with what was reported during 2018, in the first seven months of the year Panama received 1.48 million tourists, 2% of those reported in the same period of 2017.
According to the latest figures from the General Comptroller, between January and July 2017 and the same period of this year, the number of visitors with tourist purposes who arrived in the country fell from one million 504 thousand to one million 475 thousand.
At the end of the fiscal year it is estimated that the number of trips in the 2017-2018 season amounted to 256, which exceeds the 250 vessels reported during 2016-2017.
According to sector authorities, the 256 passenger ships that traveled through the Canal in the 2017-2018 cycle transported at least 300 thousand people, and for the 2018-2019 season which is about to begin, more than 230 cruise ships are expected to make trips.
Given the slowdown in activity, which is reflected in the loss of 25,000 jobs in the last two years, tourism entrepreneurs in Panama insist on continuing with the international promotion campaign.
The Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (Cciap), denounced the fact that the tourism industry is suffering a slowdown, evident in the loss of about 25,000 jobs in the last two years, with direct impact on the management of different services and products of the sector which, in some cases, have had to halt their activities and in others to reduce them severely, as well as the closing down of several companies dedicated to various related areas.
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.
From January to May of this year, hotels in Panama City reported an average occupancy of 4,799 rooms per day, 7% less than in the same period in 2017.
According to figures from the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, in May alone the average number of occupied rooms registered a 5% drop compared to the same month last year, when it fell from 4,690 to 4,479.
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.
During Easter Week 93 thousand tourists travelled by sea through different parts of the country, which represents an increase of 6% compared to the same period in 2017.
The Maritime Authority of Panama reported that from Thursday, March 29 to Sunday, April 1 of this year, 93,480 passengers were transported by sea, in 6,461 trips.This exceeds the 88,594 passengers reported in the same period in 2017.
In 2017, the country received 2.5 million tourists who spent $4.451 billion, 3.8% more than in 2016.
According to preliminary figures from the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP), in 2016, tourists spent $4.287 billion, $164 million less than the amount generated last year.
Regarding spending by tourists arriving on cruise ships, the ATP reported that "...
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