Rubén Blades talks tourism with AMCHAM

Rubén Blades, best known to the world as a musician, composer and actor, recently assumed a new role. He’s now the director of the Panamanian Tourism Institute (IPAT), a governmental agency, and President Martín Torrijos has given that post cabinet rank. In his first public presentation as IPAT director, Blades gave opening remarks at the fourth annual American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) tourism forum, which was held at the Hotel Miramar on September 8.

“All social sectors agree that we should take advantage of our tourism opportunities,” Blades began, in a discourse given in Spanish. He set his general aim at making Panama “an obligatory stop” in international tourism.

“There is no doubt about the enormous potential,” he asserted, adding that to realize it Panama needs “steps and strategies, not races and improvisations.”

Blades also spoke at length about how tourism development can’t be considered in isolation from Panama’s social problems. He said that the new government’s policy will be to allow economically marginalized communities “a chance to participate” in tourism, and singled out Colon province and the indigenous comarcas for special attention.

Noting Colon’s wealth of actual and potential tourist attractions, he called the province a tragic example of a society “caught in a paradigm of ‘you can’t do it.’”

He added that tourism must play an important role in rural development, in order to create jobs that “let people live where they grew up” instead of migrating to the Panama City metro area in search of work.

Blades explained that in his initial days as tourism director he ordered “inventories” of tourism assets and liabilities in each province and retained the services of sociologist Gilberto Toro to study the salient human factors affecting tourism development in various communities around the country. He added that he’s in the process of talking to other government departments and municipal, civic, religious and professional leaders about their perceptions of Panamanian tourism’s present status and potential futures. Based on the data obtained from these inquiries, he said he will design a a comprehensive tourism strategy for the Torrijos administration.

Blades praised the “professional spirit” of the IPAT work force that he inherited, but promised to get rid of any employee who does not work. He said that he intends to build upon the successes of prior administrations rather than scrap everything and begin anew.

The new tourism director also said that he would change the government’s advertising practices, giving increased attention to the promotion of internal tourism.

Blades then listed his principal short, medium and long term goals in his new job.

For the short term, he said that he intends to:

• Promote legislation that will turn IPAT into a semi-autonomous tourism authority (and not, as previously rumored, a ministry);

• As part of a new tourism law, provide some sort of basic insurance to deal with the problem of stranded tourists;

• Promote a law to preserve Colon’s fast-disappearing historic buildings;

• Create a tourism jobs training program that will train 1,500 Colon province residents;

• Work with other government departments to deal with the sewage problem in Bocas del Toro and improve garbage collection around the country;

• Develop a parking plan for Panama City’s Casco Viejo;

• Improve IPAT’s facilities at Tocumen Airport; and

• Put on a really good Carnival celebration in 2005.

As his medium-term goals, Blades said that he wants to:

• Resolve disputes over tourist transportation, which have frequently set the tourism industry against bus and taxi syndicates, particularly in Colon;

• Get Panama classified as a “distant port” by US maritime authorities, which would allow passengers to legally board US-bound cruise ships in Panama;

• As part of a general reform of Panamanian education, include the teaching of foreign languages and other skills crucial to tourism development;

• Renovate the ATLAPA convention center;

• Study the convention business; and

• Develop better relationships among IPAT, the tourism industry and the indigenous comarcas.

As general long term goals, Blades said that he aims to expand tourism, creating more jobs and income and attracting more investment, create a legal framework for continued growth and improve Panama’s reputation abroad.

As a final note, Blades promised to work with other agencies to give “more security” for foreigners coming here to retire and to crack down on demands for bribes directed at those who invest in the nation’s tourism business.

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business

First glimpse of Blades in his new role