Natural
beauty and an intriguing cultural mix combine with a certain personal
touch to create a welcoming destination
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| Casinos
are helping to draw more tourists, as well as boosting government
tax revenues |
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anama’s
natural beauty and cultural mix are appealing to an ever-wider audience,
with visitor numbers climbing every year. The diverse attractions on
offer, its beaches, rainforests, Spanish forts and traditional tribal
cultures, coupled with the country’s extensive infrastructure and
services sector, make it the ideal starting point for any trip to the
region.
The government ranks tourism as a priority sector.
It hopes to create jobs and bring balanced development to poorer, rural
areas through a number of tourism initiatives. The country hopes to
see tourism revenues climb almost 20 per cent this year, generating
$1.15 billion, or around 10.5 per cent of gross domestic product, up
from just four per cent in 1990. In 2002, Panama attracted around 800,000
visitors, a rise of six per cent on the previous year.
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Liriola Pitti
‘The
ENP aims to connect the country through the reconstruction
of bridges’
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According
to Liriola Pitti, general
manager of the Panamanian Institute of Tourism (Instituto Panameno de
Turismo, or IPAT), the state tourism marketing agency, there is plenty
of room for growth. A record $10 million marketing budget has been set
aside for 2003 to promote the destination to the outside world under
the banner, ‘Panama, the path less travelled’.
The new campaign plays on the idea that Panama
has always been a country open to the world, a melting pot of races,
customs and traditions, and a transit route between continents and civilisations,
but still a place that retains its own identity and secrets.
“We have some unique and very special places
to visit here. There is the culture, the is history and also our ethnic
tribes. We have the most extraordinary aspects of bio-diversity and
all in our country,” she says.
As well as the country’s centenary celebrations, the Miss Universe
pageant, due to be held in May, will generate further international
exposure. The cruise ship industry, which only started to discover Panama
a couple of years ago, is presently driving growth. Around 135 ships
arrived in 2002, double the previous year, bringing more than 100,000
visitors, mainly from the US. The arrival of these short-stay visitors
brings important benefits to the local economy. The government is looking
to expand the country’s ports infrastructure to entice more ships
and more wealthy European and American tourists. For every 12 visitors,
it estimates that one new job is created.
Panama’s high-profile commercial standing is also crucial to the
country’s hotel and leisure industry. With its strategic location
between North and South America, it is set to play an even greater role
as cross-border trade expands. It is good news for Panama City’s
convention centre organisers, as well as nearby hotels, restaurants
and other amenities.
The
Caesar Park Hotel has been one of the favoured places
to stay in Panama City for over 20 years. Whenever celebrities, heads
of state or even royalty are in town, the chances are they will check
in here. It also provides important back-up to the city’s Atlapa
Convention Centre and is close to the airport.
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Margarita García
‘The
ENP aims to connect the country through the reconstruction
of bridges’
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Margarita
García, general manager at the Caesar Park, believes
her hotel offers the best accommodation in town, in terms of service,
food, professionalism and overall value. “I think we have the edge
over the rest,” she says.
The 361-room hotel offers exceptional business meeting facilities –
it was selected as the temporary venue for the Free Trade of the Americas
sessions between 2001 and 2003 – as well as superb dining, recreational
and entertainment options. The Caesar Park presents a relaxed front
to guests and offers a personal touch that is hard to match. Children,
for example, are welcomed with a free teddy bear or cookies and milk
at night, to make them feel at home. “In Panama you do things on
a relationship basis,” says Mrs Garcia.
The casino and gambling industry is also enjoying
good times after the privatisation of the sector in 1998. The award
of licences to three separate private operators has led to an upturn
in investment in gaming facilities and a better product for customers.
Fiesta
Casinos – a
joint venture between Panamanian shareholders and Canada’s International
Thunderbird Gaming Corporation – is pioneering the development
of the local industry. It recently opened its fifth casino in Chitre
province. It has two other casinos in Panama City – located in
The Panama Hotel and The Soloy Hotel – plus one in Colon, the country’s
second largest city, and one in David, each offering state-of-the-art
gaming facilities.
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Lucas Alemán
‘The
ENP aims to connect the country through the reconstruction
of bridges’
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Lucas
Alemán, general manager of Fiesta Casinos, says
that the privatisation of the industry has been a tremendous boost to
the economy, with operators paying sizeable taxes. He says Fiesta Casinos
pays $4.3 million a year in taxes, a figure which is almost certain
to rise. In 2002, it also invested around $4 million in various projects
to improve services. “We have created new employment and invested
heavily in modernising the casinos, bringing in new games and the latest
generation slot machines,” he says.
Currently, about 20 per cent of business comes from tourists, though
there are plans to raise the figure substantially in the coming years,
according to Mr Alemán. Fiesta Casinos is working with IPAT in
promoting Panama as a gaming destination offering affordable holiday
packages to entice more visitors.
“The gaming product is a new tourism product complementary to the
existing wide variety of others that Panama has to offer – history,
bio-diversity, shopping, culture, beach and sun,” he says.
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| Aside
from first-class business meeting facilities, the 361-room Caesar
Park Hotel offers superb dining, recreational and entertainment
options, as well as exceptional service |
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