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Tuesday, February 07 2012 @ 01:05 AM COT

Travel and Tourism

Thousands of tourists visit Panama every year from all over the world. There's a lot of stuff to see and do here. Near Panama City the top destinations are the Panama Canal, the ruins of Old Panama, and the Colonial Casco Viejo section of Panama City. Panama has beaches on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, world-class sport fishing, scuba diving, and is a mecca for bird watchers from around the world. You can zip-line through the jungle canopy in El Valle, taste the best coffee in the world in Boquete, or snorkel around perfect coral reefs in Bocas del Toro. From cosmopolitan Panama City to sleepy little one-horse towns in the middle of nowhere, every corner of Panama has something to offer tourists and visitors. In this section of Panama-Guide.com you will find all of those articles related to tourism and travel. If you require additional information about this or any other category of information regarding the Republic of Panama please take advantage of our powerful in-house search engine. And if you still can't find what you're looking for we even take requests! Welcome aboard, and please remember to tell your friends about Panama-Guide.com, the #1 English Language Website about the Republic of Panama. Salud.
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"How Far Is It From Santa Clara to the Church of the Golden Altar?

Travel & Tourism By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Received this morning via email: "we are staying at the sheraton bijao how far from the resort to The Golden Altar of the Church of San Jose. Just wodering as we plan on going into Panama for some shopping. any info you can provide would be most helpful."

Editor's Comment: The Golden Altar of the Church of San Jose is located in downtown Panama City, in the Casco Viejo area. You are in the Sheraton Biajo beach resort in Santa Clara. It will take about an hour and a half to drive to Panama City, and then once you are in the city to navigate down to Casco Viejo to see the Golden Altar. Once you're in the city it's an easy jump via taxi. All of the cab drivers know where that one is, because it's on the menu for tourists. Good luck. Check the link above for more details and maps on the location of the church.

Copyright 2012 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.   

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Gorgona Community Board Charging $2 Per Car To Enter Beaches

Travel & TourismThe Gorgona Community Board established a fee to enter the beaches, money that will be used for maintenance on the site. The measure does not satisfy everyone. The decision of the Gorgona Community Board to charge $2.00 per car and $5.00 for small buses or vans to enter the beaches has generated mixed reactions among visitors. Although the money will be used to clean the beaches, some believe that if they charge they should provide certain benefits, which currently do not exist. Others understand the measure and they perceived it as fair, because visitors only litter the place. During this weekend police roadblocks were established at the entrance to Gorgona to avoid problems among visitors. (TVN)

Editor's Comment: I would go the whole nine yards. I would not mind paying an established fee to enter any public beach area, as long as there were security guards in the parking lots, fresh water showers (clean) to rinse off the salt water and sand before you get back into your car, bathrooms, trash cans for garbage, if the beaches were clean and litter free, etc. I would suggest that the government of Panama could provide the "seed money" to build these facilities in places like Gorgona, and then the local community board can collect and manage the fees to hire the employees, to the maintenance (I know, try not to laugh), etc. Hey, it's not a perfect world, but there's nothing wrong with trying to make it a little better, right? I would even pay a daily use fee for a bohio or something to get out of the sun, lifeguards, etc.    

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Panama #1 Destination - NYT 45 Best Places To Go in 2012

Travel & TourismThe 45 Places to Go in 2012 - by Justin Mott for The New York Times - 1. Panama: Go for the canal. Stay for everything else. It’s been 12 years since Panama regained control of its canal, and the country’s economy is booming. Cranes stalk the skyline of the capital, Panama City, where high-rises sprout one after the next and immigrants arrive daily from around the world. Among those who have landed en masse in recent years are American expatriates and investors, who have banked on Panamanian real estate by building hotels and buying retirement homes. The passage of the United States-Panama free trade agreement in October is expected to accelerate this international exchange of people and dollars (the countries use the same currency).

Among the notable development projects is the Panama Canal itself, which is in the early stages of a multibillion-dollar expansion. The project will widen and deepen the existing canal and add two locks, doubling the canal’s cargo capacity. For those who want to see the waterway as it was originally designed, now is the time. The expansion is expected to be completed by 2014, the canal’s 100-year anniversary.

Other high-profile projects include the construction of three firsts: The Panamera, the first Waldorf Astoria hotel in Latin America (set to open in June 2012); the Trump Ocean Club, the region’s tallest building, which opened last summer; and Frank Gehry’s first Latin American design, the BioMuseo, a natural history museum scheduled to open in early 2013. Even Panama City’s famously dilapidated historic quarter, Casco Viejo, has been transformed. The neighborhood, a tangle of narrow streets, centuries-old houses and neo-colonial government buildings, was designated a Unesco World Heritage site in 1997 and is now a trendy arts district with galleries, coffeehouses, street musicians and some of the city’s most stylish restaurants and boutique hotels.

Across the isthmus, on Panama’s Caribbean coast, the Bocas del Toro archipelago has become a popular stop on the backpacker circuit, with snorkeling and zip lining by day and raucous night life after dark. FREDA MOON.

Editor's Comment: To see the full article as it appeared in the New York Times and the other 44 destinations that are not as cool as Panama, click this link. Panama has been getting more and more attention as a tourist destination in the mainstream media in the United States this year. Panama saw more than 2 million tourists in 2011 - the first time the "2 million" barrier was broken. Tourism is very important for the local economy, with tourists leaving behind billions of dollars of spending on hotel rooms, rental cars, restaurants and eating out, tourism services, and trips such as fishing, scuba diving, boats, or zip lines through the jungle canopy. Panama seems to be growing up as fast as it can, but there are still fundamental problems to be addressed (see the earlier article about a woman who fell through a manhole cover after eating dinner at a restaurant.) Anyway, I hope all of those people who will be coming to Panama as tourists find this website as part of their explorations and preparations to visit. Come on down, the water's fine...   

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Source Videos for NBC Piece Today ... Panama - Where The World Meets

Travel & Tourism By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Received this afternoon via email: "hey don i saw your post about the NBC cover on panama for 2012. i found out where those clips came from and thought you might enjoy seeing them if you haven't already. it got me excited, i hope to go back soon. any ways here are some of the links. i'm not sure if these advertisements are from the government or a traveling agency."

Editor's Comment: Very cool. Well done, professionally made promotional videos. Fun to watch, visually pleasing, generally accurate. Great stuff. Thanks. And for all you tourists out there - yes, it's true. There really are hot chicks in bikinis running around all over the place. I tripped over three of them going to lunch today. It's amazing ... wildlife. In the first video right when the voice-over says Panama is a "land of amazing wildlife" the video cuts from a breaching humpback whale to the hot chick in the purple bikini. I love it. Perfect. How about "Panama - where the world comes together." Nah, that's OK, ladies first (grin). And I always wondered where Larry met Carmen. Now, I know.









Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.   

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Panama Reaches 2 Million Tourists in 2011 (First Time, Ever)

Travel & Tourism At least 2 million tourists visited Panama in 2011, generating estimated revenues of more than $2.5 billion dollars, said Panama's Tourism Minister Solomon Shamah. In 2011 "we have reached 2 million visitors," and we could reach 2.1 million by year's end, Shamah told reporters. The income of $2.5 billion dollars places tourism as one of the most important sources of income for Panama, together with the Panama Canal, the Colon Free Trade Zone, and the banking center. "We are 3.3 million people and we seen our two millionth visitor. When did we Panamanians ever think we were going to see that?" said the official. Shamah said the figure of 2 million visitors per year was a goal established by the government of Ricardo Martinelli which they had hoped to achieve by 2014, his last year in office. (Telemetro)

Editor's Comment: Yup, tourists are great. They come here, look around, spend money, buy some stuff, eat at the restaurants, and leave. We love tourists. Now, if only the government of Panama would WTFU and start doing some things to help tourism. Like - putting a stop to the corrupt cops who continue to suck bribes out of tourists on the Inter American Highway with a radar gun and a threat of a huge fine. I received another email about that same thing just today. Whatever. Maybe getting pulled over by a corrupt cop in a third world country is part of the "charm." Honestly, it's hard for me to see some of the stuff that needs to be fixed (from a tourist point of view) because I've been here for so long. OK you sun baked partially dehydrated rental car warriors from Oshkosh ... what should Panama do to make the country more tourist friendly, to attract even more billions of dollars to the local economy? Comments down below, pur flavor...   

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NBC Today Show With Matt Lauer - Panama Featured By Travel and Leisure Magazine As Top Destination For 2012

Travel & TourismBy DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - More than 2 million people visited Panama as tourists during 2011. This was the first time the "2 million" barrier was broken - up from 1.4 million tourists in 2008. Panama has been enjoying an uninterrupted economic boom with steady and significant growth in the nation's Gross Domestic Product since 2003. More and more foreigners are "discovering" Panama as a destination for both travel as tourists and to live full time as expatriates. There are now an estimated 40,000 Americans living in Panama full time, for example, and many more who visit regularly or who spend part of the year here as "snowbirds." And just as winter is starting to kick in up North, down here the dry season - known locally as "verano" (summer) is starting to make its presence known. If you're just starting to investigate Panama, the best time of the year weather wise are the months of January, February and March, with less rain, blue skies with white puffy clouds, lower humidity, and gentle breezes. Generally speaking the worse the weather is up North, the better it is down here, and it lasts until Spring.

Panama Featured On NBC Today Show This Morning: I got a tip this morning (thanks, Joe) that Panama was being featured on the NBC Today Show with Matt Lauer in a piece entitled "12 Must See Travel Destinations For 2012" (click the link to see the video). There were several destinations highlighted in the piece and the part about Panama was very well done, at least the video part of the segment. Of course for all of you who follow this website regularly Panama isn't a hidden secret or a surprise destination, and you've already discovered Panama's charms. In the piece they sort of say "get down to Panama before everyone else finds out about it, before it's too late." Of course I love this kind of publicity and exposure for Panama as a travel destination, because all of that turns into traffic to this website. Even if they did focus on a museum that's not open yet and the expansion of the Panama Canal that tourists can't really see. Whatever. Buzz is buzz. Here's the text of the interview:

  • "Matt: Few locations make the list down south, st. vin gent acent and the gr grenadines, but your pick is panama.

  • Nilou: If you've been to Belize and craving the Central American excitement this is the place to go. Frank Gehry is building a "bio museo", a museum devoted to biodiversity. The panama canal is having a $5.6 billion expansion happening in a couple of years.

  • Matt: ...to accommodate the super ships...

  • Nilou: ...and great hotels, Manray, a great hotel.

  • Matt: We were there for "where in the world" and we saw a lot of americans and all said they loved it.

  • Nilou: Go before it changes. This is the moment to go."

Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.   

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Copa Now Has Direct Daily Nonstop Service to O'Hare in Chicago

Travel & TourismThe Panamanian airline Copa opened direct flights between Chicago and Panama City, said Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa Airlines, in a ceremony that included music and typical Panamanian dances. The first flight departed this morning from Terminal 5 at the Chicago O'Hare International Airport bound for Panama's Tocumen international airport, where Copa has its center for the Americas. The return flight to Chicago is scheduled for late afternoon, a Boeing-700 with capacity for 124 passengers. "We are connecting two tourist and business destinations, while enabling a portal to more than 50 Latin American cities," said Heilbron. Welcoming the Panamanian airline to O'Hare was the responsibility of the Aviation Director of the Municipality, Rosemarie S. Andolino. "These daily flights will help increase tourism, business and economic opportunities between the cities of Chicago and Panama, as well as connectivity to destinations throughout Latin America," she said. In addition to the flight to Chicago, the airline operates flights nonstop Cup between Panama and the U.S. cities of Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Washington and Orlando. (Telemetro)

   
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Panama Gets A New Tourist Attraction - Manuel Antonio Noriega

Travel & TourismBy DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - I can hear it now. Dozens of cruise ships carrying hundreds of thousands of passengers make their way through the Panama Canal every year. Aboard those vessels are local area experts who - aided by microphones - explain to the passengers what they are seeing as the ships slowly make their way through the canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific or vice versa. And now with the incarceration of the former military dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega in the El Renacer prison, located literally on the "banks of the Panama Canal", you can be sure he will become a new attraction mentioned during every passage. You can also get a close up view of the El Renacer prison if you hop on the train from Panama City to Colon - the train tracks run right behind the prison, spitting distance away from Noriega. Former military dictator, drug trafficker, money launderer, murderer, and now tourist attraction. Hey, at least he's giving something back, right? Peanuts, get ch'ur peanuts...



Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.   

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More Than 1 Million Tourists Spent More Than $1 Billion Dollars - Jan to July 2011

Travel & TourismTourists and passengers in transit in the country spent $1.087 billion dollars in Panama during the months of January to July 2011, reflecting an increase of 12.4% more than last year, according to a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). The report is based on figures provided by the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) - responsible for the sector - indicating there were 1.5 million passengers in direct transit, a 17% increase over last year. The report also indicates the arrivals of tourists kept hotel occupancy rates at 67.5% in the period, up 1.1% from 2010, the highest rate in the last four years. Meanwhile, 1.9 million people moved through the country via air travel, 7% more than last year. This figure refers to the movements through the Tocumen International Airport. The report from the Economic Analysis Division said international cargo increased by 2%.

On the other hand, in regard with the domestic market, passenger traffic increased 6%. There were 30% more flights to and from Bocas del Toro, 44% increase to Chiriqui, 20 to the Kuna Yala, and 7% increase to Contadora, each with important domestic tourist areas. Domestic cargo also increased by 10%.

The country had 1,113,162 visitors, 12.3% more than in 2010. Of that total, 77.1% were tourists, cruise passengers 18.5% and 4.4% hikers. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: The numbers make sense. If there were more than 1 million tourists and each spent an average of just $1,000 dollars, then there's your billion dollars. Tourism is a very important aspect of the Panamanian economy. Just this morning I was down in Casco Viejo near INAC and the French Embassy, and there were three different groups of tourists being lead by a guide, about 20 people in each group. The ATP set 2 million tourists as their goal for 2011, let's see if we hit it. Tourists are "perfect" from an economic point of view because they come here, spend money, and leave - it's almost all positive for the host nation. Up in Costa Rica they are starting to feel the pinch as more people choose Panama instead. Costa Rica's annual take from tourism is only about $2.2 billion dollars so Panama isn't that far behind. Costa Rica's tourism industry is relatively new. They didn't see their first year with a million visitors until 1999, and in 2008 they had their first year with more than 2 million visitors. By comparison last year in 2010 Panama had 1.3 million visitors generating $1.6 billion dollars in revenue. As more and more people discover Panama as a tourist destination, then the sector will take on an ever increasing level of importance for the national economy. One indication: there's a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to tourism in Costa Rica, but there isn't a similar article for Panama. When I first got here in 1987 there were practically no tourists (Noriega, war, etc.). Anyway - what you already knew - tourism is growing in Panama and it will continue to grow.    

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Tourism Authority Launches New Chiriqui Promotion Packages

Travel & TourismAs part of the "Discover The Interior" campaign of the Panama Tourism Authority, they recently launched the "Chiriqui is the most" promotion, with which you can visit the province of Chiriqui and stay for three days and two nights at the hotel of your choice from $233.50 per person. The package includes airfare, breakfast, taxes and up to 50% discount on activities and services. Activities include tours of the province of Chiriqui, rock climbing, climbing the Baru Volcano, among others. The promotion is valid until December 12, 2011 and is subject to the availability of each participating hotel. (Panamagazine)

Editor's Comment: They were doing this with Bocas for awhile, don't know if it's still valid. Basically the government sponsors or subsidizes these packages as part of an effort to get Panamanians to travel to see other parts of Panama.