In February 2009, there were 5 thousand less visitors than during the same period last year, according to the Comptroller of the Republic.
With respect to 2008, the cumulative amount for January and February saw an increase of 3.3%.
Roberto Gonzalez wrote in Prensa.com: “Private enterprise has shown concern due to the reduction of this activity. Carl-Fredrik Nordström, Deputy Administrator of the ATP (Panamanian Tourism Authority) said the agency has not cut its international guidelines or reduced its participation in tourism fairs or its foreign incentives abroad 'in any way. Quite the contrary, we have strengthened them'."
Meetings were held with representatives of the Hilton, Hyatt, Fairmont and Four Seasons hotel chains as potential investors.
The Panamanian Tourism Authority (ATP) will participate in the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin, an event that specializes in tourism investment.
Carl-Fredrik Nordström, deputy general of the ATP, informed Prensa.com: "It's not easy to attract these hotels, especially during these times of crisis currently being experienced by the financial world. Thus we are developing an aggressive policy of seeking investors."
In a conference held in Barcelona, the Vice-minister of Tourism indicated that Panama continues growing and needs to expand its hotel offerings.
In the conference, "Why Panama? - Keys to Investing in the Tourism and Hotelier Sector of a Growing Country," Vice-minister of Tourism, Carl-Fredrik Nordström, emphasized the advantages of Panama as a tourist center and an investment destination.
There was a record of 1.5 million visitors making it one of the sectors with the most development during 2008.
According to pa-digital.com.pa, "projections at the end of 2008 indicate that the figure could read 1.6 million visitors, recording a growth of 14.3% compared to 2007.
This significant increase has brought the country annual earnings of around $37 million; four years ago it was only $15.9 million.
Despite an increase of 3.4% in 2008, hotels were unable to meet the demand for tourist accommodations.
According to sigloxxi.com, "For the sub-administrator of the Panama Tourism Authority, Carl Fredrik Nordstrom, supply increased, but "it is never enough," bearing in mind the increase in tourists that are visiting the country.
The Department of Development and Investment of the Tourism Authority reported that 25 new hotels opened with an investment of $25.5 million, providing 561 rooms and 935 beds, in addition to generating 309 jobs."
The number of tourist arrivals from January to October 2008 grew to 1.23 million, 153 thousand more than for the same period last year.
Just in October alone, 25 thousand tourists more than last year entered the country; this is a growth of 25.4%. The best growth was for maritime tourist arrivals according to preliminary data, coinciding with the start of the new cruise ship season, which improved by 83.5% compared to last year.
During the first nine months of the year, the country received 13.1% more visitors than during the same period in 2007.
This is the first time that Panama has surpass one million visitors in the first nine months of the year. Carl-Fredrik Nordström, administrator in charge of the Panama Tourism Authority (ATP), attributed these results to the "constant and sustained promotion which has been carried out for two years."
Minister of Tourism, Ruben Blades, will travel to Berlin, London, and Amsterdam shortly in order to negotiated more flights to Panama.
To date, they have reached out to Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa and KLM. KLM has been offering direct flights to Panama from Amsterdam since March and will increase the frequency to 5 flights per week in December. "They hope to reach 7 per week," added Blades .
Panama will participate in the international Top Resa fair which will be held in Paris from September 16 to 19.
In order to create the most impact during the campaign, "for the first time we will place ads on the buses that run throughout Paris, creating add value for the promotion that is already in progress in European magazines and newspapers," Carl-Fredrik Nordström, sub-administrator of the Panama Tourism Authority.
Six prominent publicity companies have responded to the second call for bids made by the Panamanian Tourist Institute.
The companies are Azul Publicidad, BB&M, Marquez Worldwide, McCann Ericsson, Mega Publicidad and Punto Aparte.
They are interested in getting in on contracts worth 4 million balboas over the next four years in a national tourism campaign.
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