More than 1.6 million visitors came to Panama in 2008
(realestatepanama.net) Hotels in Panama City announced an 80% occupancy rate.
A record 1,029,549 visitors entered Panama through Tocumen International Airport during the first 11 months of 2008, a press release from the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) revealed.
Carl Fredrik Nordström, assistant administrator for the ATP, projected that year-end figures will show more than 1.6 million total visitors to the country, including all ports of entry.
"Tocumen displays exciting numbers. Through this airport we receive the kind of tourist who usually desires hotels, restaurants and tours, all of which increases their spending. The growth of the airport’s infrastructure will sustain the increase in tourists," indicated Nordström .
Entry and exit forms processed by the National Directorate of Immigration and Naturalization and the Comptroller General of the Republic showed a 21 percent growth rate, meaning 177,683 more passengers came through the terminal than during the same period last year.
As of November 2008, Panama recorded 1,379,123 total visitors, for a growth rate of 13.8 percent, or an increase of 167,694 visitors.
At the Paso Canoa border crossing with Costa Rica, the growth rate was 13 percent, which represents 110,648 visitor arrivals, or 12,620 more than last year.
Visitors arriving through Panamanian seaports numbered 238,926, which is 8.6 percent less than the prior year.
Hotels have high occupancy rates
The figures for hotels with over 100 rooms in Panama City showed an 80 percent occupancy rate, while overall hotel occupancy reached 68 percent in the metropolitan area.
For Jorge Loaiza, president of the Panamanian Association of Hotels (APATEL), these positive results are due to the efforts of the government and the business community, as well as international tourism advertising.
Copa Airlines' new destinations and the Royal Caribbean home port in Colón, with its Enchantment of the Seas cruise ship, have also contributed to the favorable numbers.
Loaiza estimates that 2008 will register a 15 to 17 percent increase in hotel occupancy over 2007.
Enrique Pesantez, manager of Pesantez Tours, indicated that Panama had the second highest occupancy rate in the region.
"This is due to the strong position Panama maintains in many sectors, including tourism, finance, economy, ports, the Panama Canal and real estate, which puts us at the level of the most developed countries in the region," said Pesantez.
The tourism sector will contribute nearly $2.2 million to the economy this year.
Investments
The ATP's Directorate of Tourism Investments processed a record $2.54 billion in new hotel investments, owing partly to the temporary incentives provided under Law Number 8.
As far as the number of new hotel projects, Pesantez said that there is definitively a need for more and better hotels.
"We are anxious to see them finished. This will cause prices to return to normal and service to improve," indicated Pesantez.
Nevertheless, Loaiza indicated that some of the planned hotel projects have fallen through, due to the worldwide economic recession and more stringent bank lending policies.
Loaiza did not specify which hotels would not be built, but indicated that if only 50 percent of those registered are completed, it’s still "very good."
"There are many projects that have already begun and are going to be completed. I believe that this will have a positive effect, but I don’t think they're going to reach the predicted figures ($2.54 billion)," remarked Loaiza.
Perspectives
Pesantez noted that 2009 started out slow, like most years, but he believes that there are “sparks” of growth.
The businessman indicated that, due to the worldwide economic problems, this year will not be easy, but added that Panama depends neither on Europe nor on North America. The Latin American market has been consistent and is expected to remain so.
It is also natural for tourism to drop slightly in an election year, which this is for Panama.
Loaiza said that the hotel industry has not been hurt by the recession in the first 15 days of 2009.
"We do not know what will happen in the near future, but we hope that if we are affected, it'll be as little as possible," he remarked.
Original Source: The Panama Post
