The risks involved when visiting a destination and the possibility of making reservations with less notice are fundamental factors that consumers will consider when deciding whether or not to take a trip in the coming months.
The outbreak of covid-19 in several countries around the world almost caused air, sea and land transport to disappear, as several governments decided to ban leisure and business travel.
Companies in the sector and the Guatemalan Tourism Institute are working on a proposal for rules for adventure tourism businesses in the country.
From a statement issued by the INGUAT:
Guatemala November 10, 2016.Given the need to regulate and control all activities related to the adventure tourism segment, private public entities have initiated a regulatory process, forming the Technical Committee on Adventure.
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.
The campaign against property being rented out for tourism purposes establishes penalties with fines ranging from $5000 to $50,000 for those who promote and commit the crime.
The Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) has opened up a communication channel for businesses and individuals to report cases of houses rented to foreign tourists in the capital, in compliance with Law 80 prohibiting this activity.
In the first four months of the year there were 73,788 European visitors, with Spain leading the list with 19,561 tourists, followed by the French with 10,553 and the Germans with 8,221.
According to figures from the Tourism Authority of Panama, European tourists are spending more per day and on average their stays are for 9.3 days. One of the reasons explaining the increase in recent months is the increase in flight frequencies between the old continent and Tocumen International Airport, which now amounts to 25 flights per week.
During the first six months of the year 1.32 million visitors entered the country, while in the same period of 2012 it was 1.28 million.
The result is in line with the behavior of the international industry, as globally there was growth on average of about 4% between January and June, said Ruben Pacheco, president of the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels (CCH).
Cruise companies need improvements in port areas reserved for passengers, cargo ships and vessel towing.
The director of Puerto Quetzal, Allan Marroquín, explained that the cruise industry, in relation to Puerto Quetzal, "... first of all, proposes having towing equipment that has greater capacity, because sometimes the weight of the ships coming in exceeds that which can be handled at the Port ".
Renting homes for a few days as an alternative to traditional hotel accommodation for tourists, is a growing trend all over the world and Panama is no exception.
EDITORIAL
In Panama City, the phenomenon is also being driven by the widespread availability of apartments built and purchased as an opportunity to gain profit from resale, which the current market stagnation has left unoccupied.
Like other patterns of consumption, tourism is changing as a result of the crisis toward closer destinations and for shorter time periods.
Operator estimates of what they will rake in during Easter Week, an annual peak in the tourism industry’s calendar, have already taken these trends into account and adjusted the supply; intraregional tourism benefits from this.