After it was announced that incentives would be given to cruise lines that establish their base port in one of the country's maritime terminals, Lindblad Expeditions expressed its intention to operate cruises from the ports of Cristobal and Amador.
According to the letter of intent that was sent, it is 6 operations in the year 2021 and 14 operations for 2022 of Lindblad Expeditions that operates its adventure cruises with National Geographic and Ancon Expeditions in Panama.
After the first tender to operate and maintain the cruise terminal at Isla Perico in Panama was cancelled, bases for a new tender were announced.
Panama Government Purchase 2019-2-03-0-08-LV-007549
"The awarded Contractor shall be in charge of carrying out all the Services that allow the efficient and satisfactory performance of the Base Port and Transit Regime operations, from the arrival or departure of the vessels by sea, to the access or departure of the passengers and their luggage by land.
The Maritime Authority canceled the tender to operate and maintain the terminal in Isla Perico, arguing that in an "analysis of the current statement of charges, inconsistencies were found for the operation and maintenance of the terminal."
In April 2019, the terms of the public tender were published, to award the contract for "Operation and maintenance of the cruise terminal of Panama, in Perico Island", but the authorities decided to cancel the tender.
In Guatemala, the designs of the cruise terminal and the liquid bulk terminal, both in the National Port of Santo Tomas de Castilla, Puerto Barrios, Izabal, are tendered.
Guatemala Government Purchase 10213864:
"Terminal design for cruise ships, Santo Tomas de Castilla National Port, Barrios Port, Izabal."
The Panama Maritime Authority tenders the operation and maintenance of the cruise terminal on Perico Island.
Panama Government Purchase 2019-2-03-0-08-LV-007211:
"The Contractor awarded this Public Act will be in charge of carrying out all the Services that allow the efficient and satisfactory performance of the Base Port and Transit Regime operations, from the arrival or departure of the vessels by sea, to the access or departure of the passengers and their luggage by land.
The National Port Company Santo Tomás de Castilla will seek external financing to develop the expansion works planned for the port terminal in the next five years.
According to the representatives of the Empresa Portuaria Nacional Santo Tomas de Castilla (Empornac), in the next five years a cruise terminal will be built, one for solid and liquid bulk, and another for containers.
In Guatemala, the 2017-2018 cruise season closed with the arrival of 115 vessels, exceeding by 20% those reported in the previous period.
According to statistics from the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT) in the 2017-2018 season, the boats that docked on the coasts of the country had a total of 152,192 tourists.
Jorge Mario Chajon, director of Inguat, said to Dca.gob.gt that "...
In Costa Rica a private consortium has proposed investing $50 million in the modernization of the port of Quepos, to transform it into a terminal with capacity to receive large cruise ships.
Authorities at the Costa Rican Institute of Ports of the Pacific (Incop) reported that the offer by the Costa Rican consortium CEPP Consultants LLC, which was put forward last Tuesday and will be analyzed starting from next week, and relates to a project be developed through the granting of a concession.
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.
In Costa Rica the arrival of 224,000 passengers on board of 110 cruises is expected during the 2018-2019 season.
The cruise season is scheduled to begin on August 23, with the arrival of the Sea Princess ship to Puerto Limón.The Port Administration and Economic Development Board of the Atlantic Coast (Japdeva) announced that a total of 110 vessels are expected to arrive during the entire period.
The Chilean and Panamanian governments have agreed to promote a cruise route between both countries and decided that Chile will be the first Latin American ally of the Logistics Hub of Panama.
The president of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, and his Chilean counterpart, Sebastián Piñera, agreed to jointly promote the Pacific-South cruise route, which will go from Panama to Valparaíso and vice versa, aimed at increasing the number of tourists visiting both nations, informed the Panamanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
For the 2017-2018 season, the arrival of 165,000 tourists on board 120 cruise ships is expected, which will represent an increase of 33% over the previous period.
The general director of the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (Inguat), Jorge Mario Chajon, stated that "...the current cruise season that began in September and will end next August, will be the best ever in Guatemala, both terms of the arrival of vessels, as well as the number of cruise passengers and the projected foreign exchange income. 'A total of 120 cruises will arrive during the season, which is 25% more than last year'."
The Costa Rican Tourism Institute has announced an alliance with the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association, to develop a long-term strategy and encourage the arrival of more cruise ships.
According to the agreement, Costa Rica will receive guidance from the FCCA to establish a National Cruise Strategy that involves the development of Costa Rica as a cruise destination, which includes port infrastructure, tourism operations and security, as well as promoting demand and the understanding of the cruise industry and its operational practices in port cities in order to build cooperative relationships through the development of productive actions with the private and public sectors.
The Port Authority at the Dominican Republic will announce a proposal to develop a cruise and passenger terminal in Puerto Plata.
The project consists of rebuilding the port of Puerto Plata, which was destroyed after Hurricanes Irma and María, and building a cruise and passenger terminal.
The number of tourists that arrived at the Amador marina in the first quarter of the year almost tripled compared to the figure for the same period in 2017, and the number of cruises grew by 45%.
From a statement issued by the Tourism Authority of Panama:
April 9, 2018Cruise arrivals at the marina of Amador, in the Panamanian Pacific, during this first quarter of 2018 recorded an increase in ships and passengers.