As of November 1st, meeting centers and event halls, including hotels, will be able to accommodate business and academic activities for up to 150 people.
In addition, in the specific case of social activities such as tea baskets or weddings, the maximum allowed capacity will be 30 people, also without the inclusion of those in charge of attending the event, reported the Costa Rican Tourism Institute.
Although the government did not extend the State of Calamity and since October 1, Guatemala has been allowing the holding of events, fairs and concerts, the sector's businessmen believe that it is not profitable to hold meetings in which an area of 10 m2 per attendee is required.
In Costa Rica, hotels and companies in the sector are preparing themselves with expansions and new services in order to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the new convention center.
The recent inauguration of the new convention center, with 16 thousand square meters and capacity to hold up to 5,600 people at the same time, promises to boost the country's hotel activity, particularly in the Greater Metropolitan Area.
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.
A convention center and hotel are part of the expansion works scheduled for the Galerías Santo Domingo shopping center, as part of an investment of $20 million.
One thousand additional parking spaces, a new area for restaurants and shops, a convention center and hotel are some of the works that Inmobiliaria Santo Domingo announced will be carried out in GaleríasSanto Domingo from 2017.
Hoteliers have suggested making Panama a "duty free" zone for tourists, eliminating customs and import duties and refunding ITBMS to visitors.
Faced with the loss of competitiveness in the Panama hotel sector, entrepreneurs are asking for customs and import taxes to be eliminated, and tourists to be refunded the ITBMS charged when leaving the country.
Urbánica announced the construction this year of a 130-room Marriott Fairfield hotel in downtown La Gran Vía, and plans to start operations in 2017.
The real estate developer announced the construction of the Urbánica Marriott Fairfield hotel, located in the shopping center La Gran Vía in San Salvador, for an investment of approximately $17 million. The property will focus on the business tourism segment as does the Marriott Courtyard, developed in the same area.
New buildings, the arrival of new brands, remodeling and expansion of facilities, are part of the changes in the hotel sector in the Guatemalan capital.
Most of the brand names that announced plans to expand their facilities or open new stores are focused on hotels for business travelers and convention tourism. La Quinta Inns & Suites is one of the hotels which announced its opening in Zone 10 this year, while the Marriott brand announced its alliance with Grupo Azur to open a franchise of this hotel in Zone 10.
For the first time in two years, Panama will achieve a hotel occupancy rate of 60% during the days of the Summit of the Americas, which will have an economic impact estimated at between $50 million and $80 million.
The visit which will be made by 35 presidents of the Americas and 25,000 people who make up their delegations have changed the landscape, at least for a few days, of the Panama hotel sector, which expects to achieve an occupancy rate of at least 70% from 6 and April 11.
The tourism sector wants to take advantage of the hotel capacity available in the country in order to promote convention tourism, which has so far been untapped.
At the moment various industry representatives are working on two axes: "... An international one to promote the destination and another local one to promote the supply available in the country.
According to tourism businesses in Panama, eliminating benefits for this segment of the touristic market will hurt an activity which contributes $300 per day per tourist.
The Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) stated in Panamanian media that "... from January, the rental of Atlapa Convention Center will not be free for anyone" ... claiming that it costs money both for the State and the authority responsible for tourism.
Although the number of tourists coming to Panama City continues to grow, there is still an oversupply of rooms, and in the last 3 years average occupancy has fallen by 10%.
The prevailing oversupply in the sector has begun to affect hotels, whose financial profits have been reduced by 20%. Currently the supply of rooms is 40 thousand, 8000 more than in and 2009 and although the number of tourists arriving in the country has not reduced, the percentage of unoccupied hotel rooms has reached 45%. The Panamanian Chamber of Tourism recognizes that the situation is worrying and is demanding institutional action in order to increase occupancy by 2015.
With an investment of $35 million the plan is to build a shopping center with movie theaters, a convention center and a hotel in Puerto Salvador Allende.
According to Virgilio Silva, CEO of the National Port Enterprise (EPN) , the construction of a shopping center with cinemas in Managua Malecon is very close to completion. Documentation has been formalized with Arab investors to develop the project which also includes the construction of a convention center and a hotel.
The 2.270 million visitors who came to Panama in 2013 stayed on average 9.3 days and spent $168 a day.
The number of tourists who came to Panama last year exceeded the target of 2,250 million set by the Tourism Authority of Panama.
"The month with the highest tourism spending is not necessarily the one with the most tourist arrivals. In March $323.5 million came into the country by way of tourist spending.
The proceeds will pay for the costs of the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Panama, an office dedicated to promoting the country as a venue for conferences and conventions.
The Tourism Authority of Panama could increase between 0.5% and 1% the lodging tax which is currently 10%.
Prensa.com reports that "the measure will be implemented in the next few months and comes from a consultation hired by the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) to transform into a public-private entity the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Panama, which will be funded with the new charge to be paid by tourists. "