The Asian country has authorized 64 Panamanian tour operators, meaning that starting on August 15, they will start offering group travel services to Chinese tourists travelling to Panama.
The administrator of the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP), Gustavo Him, stated that group trips of Chinese tourists traveling to Panama, will be carried out in common agreement between the authorized Chinese and Panamanian companies, who will be in charge of preparing packages, which will include our country's attractions of interest to the travelers that will arrive from the Asian giant.
Fifty seven travel agencies and Panamanian tour operators submitted their applications to the ATP to be included in a list of companies authorized to do business in China.
The requests that were received by the Tourism Authority were sent to the Panamanian Foreign Ministry, so that these in turn can be sent to the Chinese authorities.This means that all that remains is for the Asian country to grant approval so that these tourism businesses can start to negotiate with Chinese wholesalers.
May 15th is the new deadline for delivery of the requirements needed to enter the list of tourism companies authorized to do business with their Chinese counterparts.
From a statement issued by the Tourism Authority of Panama:
May 8, 2018.The Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) has extended until May 15 the deadline for delivery of the required documents and signed forms, to enter the list of tourism companies authorized to start doing business with their counterparts in the People's Republic of China.
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.
Panamanian tour operators interested in offering services in China must have a minimum of 5 years experience in handling international groups.
From a statement issued by the Tourism Authority of Panama:
April 16, 2018An information meeting with tour operators interested in venturing into the Chinese tourism market was held by the Department of Tourism Companies and Activities of the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP).
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.
Businessmen from the Panamanian tourist sector welcome the arrival of Air China flights in March 2018, but consider it will be a challenge to attract a type of tourist that seems to prefer very different destinations than those offered by Central America.
In a region which for many years has specialized in serving North American tourists and more recently Europeans, preparing to provide the attention demanded by tourists from China will be a challenge, according to the Panamanian tourism entrepreneurs themselves.
The Varela administration is assessing the possibility of making the requirements to grant tourist visas to Chinese citizens more flexible, in order to attract tourism and investments from the Asian country.
The possibility was raised by representatives of the Panamanian government to their Asian counterparts on an official tour that is taking place in China.
An announcement has been made that the Asian hotel company Six Senses has bought the hotel Aqua Wellness Resort, located in Tola beach on the Pacific coast.
The government has announced the opening of a consulate in Shanghai and other efforts to open others in cities where there is high purchasing power in an effort to attract people to the Costa Rican tourism sector.
From a statement issued by the Government of Costa Rica:
Tourism is one of the axes that form part of the strategic partnership relations between Costa Rica and China, with concrete actions leading to an increase in visits by tourists , the beginning of efforts to establish a direct flight and contact made by tour operators.
The Immigration Department has improved systems at the consulate in China in order to make it easier for Chinese citizens to obtain the visa they need to visit the country.
As part of a strategy to promote tourism being carried out by Costa Rica in China, the immigration systems operating in the consulate are being updated in order to provide a more streamlined service for issuing visas.
Progress is being made on an agreement for freedoms of the air to boost tourism between the two countries by increasing air links.
A Costa Rican delegation composed of the chief of Tourism, Allan Flores and Ana Cristina Jenkins, Deputy Minister of Transport is currently visiting the Asian nation negotiating the agreement.
"There has been a lot of hard work done between the aviations bodies of each country, we have had discussions with airlines to stimulate interested in the route and in April a delegation of Costa Rica tourism entrepreneurs was in China," said Costa Rica's ambassador in Beijing, Marco Vinicio Ruiz.
Panama participated in the Taipei International Tourism Fair, promoting the country as a touristic destination.
Participants of the fair reported high interest by Taiwanese travel agencies, who have prepared several tourism packages for Central America and the Caribbean.
"Taipei International Tourism Fair, Asia's largest, housed 1.206 stands from 58 countries", reported Laestrella.com.pa.
Guatemalan is to take part in two Asian tourism affairs in an effort to double the number of visitors it receives from the Far East.
Guillermo Novelly, deputy director of the tourism office Inguat, said he was putting the finishing touches to plans for Guatemalan stands at fairs in Tokyo and Taiwan.
The JATA fair in Tokyo is being held from September 19 through 21 in conjunction with Japan's annual tourism congress.
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