Tourism is mostly a private sector affair, but a decline in
the number of visitors can also put public workers' jobs at risk.
Among the public sector employees whose livelihoods are on the
line are those who maintain Panama City's Los Pueblitos park,
which
is located on Ancon Hill and draws visitors from abroad as well
as Panama residents.
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We do not, however, slant the news to cater to specific businesses
or to the tourism industry in general, and much less so to satisfy the
government's IPAT tourism bureau. If IPAT's director wants her photo
in The Panama News, she'll have to do something newsworthy or else buy
an ad. Credibility is more important to The Panama News than the government's
favor.
Usually, about once a month, we receive an inquiry about whether
it's safe to travel to and in Panama. We try to answer these queries
honestly. Yes, it is generally safe to come to Panama, but you don't
want to walk around certain urban neighborhoods carrying cameras and
laden with lots of gold jewelry, and if you're thinking of backpacking
through the Darien Jungle to Colombia you are contemplating a foolish
trek into a war zone.
Since September 11, we have received more than the usual number of
email requests about how safe Panama is. We notice that air travel is
down worldwide. We notice that there have been cancelled bookings on
Panama Canal cruises.
Do you want to hear that the acts of war that were visited on the
United States can't happen here? In fact, a Middle Eastern suicide bomber
blew a Panamanian commuter plane out of the air back in 1994.
What we saw on September 11 is a worldwide problem, and if you want
to be told that it isn't you shouldn't be reading serious newspapers.
And yet, it IS safe to come to Panama, as safe as visiting anywhere
else, as safe as staying at home. If you were planning to visit here
this tourist season, there is no good reason to cancel your reservations.
The climate of terror that was created on September 11 is very real,
and when it has run its course Panama will be able to quantify the business
losses that it has caused the national economy in dollars and cents.
The various sectors of this country's tourism industry are all nervous
about the situation.
It doesn't have to be as bad as many people fear that it will be.
We still have beautiful beaches, impressive rainforests, great fishing,
the canal and its lakes, the Chiriqui highlands, the Bocas islands,
and an amazing cultural diversity for such a little country. We're still
the air hub of the Americas and the maritime crossroads of the world,
and this region's principal commercial center. There are a lot of fun
things to do in Panama this year, and if others don't come in great
numbers, that means that you won't have to fight such big crowds if
you come to visit.
The main tourism season starts at about Christmas. However, the number
of visitors who come for the October 21 Festival of the Black Christ
in Portobelo, the throngs who come for independence parades in November
and the count of that relatively new breed of visitors, the ecotourists
who come here to see the rainforests at the height of rainy season,
are figures of intense national interest.
We hope that the news that we have to report will be positive. Either
way, we intend to let you know.
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There aren't very many recreational vehicle faciities in Panama,
but last year one of them, Santa Clara's XS, drew a caravan of
tourists who drove down from the states. As the drive down to
Panama and back becomes safer due to more stable political situations
along the route, this form of tourism ought to blossom in Panama.
However, we don't yet know how and to what extent a war with Osama
bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network will discourage all foreign travel
by Americans and thus affect the RV crowd's travel plans as well.
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The Hotel Melia Panama Canal, into which the old School of the
Americas at the former Fort Gulick has been converted, is beautiful,
luxurious and largely vacant. It has a big structural problem
because it was anticipated that the core clientele would be business
travelers coming to make wholesale deals at the Colon Free Zone,
but now many of these people save money by conducting such business
over the Internet. However, the Barcelona-based Melia chain is
big enough to survive a change in business plans for one of its
many hotels, and this hotel, located on Gatun Lake, is such a
rare jewel that it ought to be able to attract enough vacationers
to make up for the decline in business travelers.
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The biggest part of Panama's tourism economy comes from business
travelers, and this sector can be subdivided many ways. The two
biggest draws for business travel remain the Colon Free Zone and
business and conventions, the biggest event in the latter category
being the EXPOCOMER trade fair at the ATLAPA convention center
in Panama City. This year's EXPOCOMER was smaller than in previous
years, mostly because of a sluggish regional economy but also
due to infighting within the business community. The Panama Chamber
of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture took over the managment
and proceeds of the US pavillion from AMCHAM, and as a result
there was a smaller American representation and no Puerto Rico
pavillion this time.
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