Panamainfo.com

Boquete offers amazing coffee farm experiences.  We just went with  Boquete Safari Tours on their  a new Three Coffee Estates tour, which perfectly  showcases the Boquete coffee experience. The tour takes you to three very different estate coffee farms to taste three kinds of coffee and experience three uniquely Boquete coffee farms. One farm is [...]

Both Boquete and Bocas have recovered from  the recent heavy rains and  are open and ready for your toursim business. Please find below a report from Bocas- you will see that Bocas is now ready to receive tourists.   Boquete is Ready for Tourists: I just spent 3 days in Boquete where I visited all the tourism [...]

Just spent the weekend in an important new eco-destination for Panama- Rancho de Caldera Eco-Retreat in Boquete.  A friend had told me it was “fabulous” and she was right. Where to start? Created by American couple Gina and Chris McCullough , the setting is idealic with sweeping mountain panoramic views.  The architecture is a delight [...]

Folks, Below is a list of confirmed 8 megaprojects and another huge one in the works  for 2008-2010. Panama is a tiny country- if only half of these projects actually get built it will do very well, but most of these projects are going to happen Megaprojects in Panama Confirmed for 2008-2010: 1.Canal widening: 2.8 billion 2. Petaquilla [...]

Panama like all countries will be effected by the US and worldwide economic downturn which looks like will continue for a couple of years.  However, in my opinion Panama will continue to do well economically inspite of the this worldwide downturn. Why? Several reasons. First, inspite of the US situation, these years will be a [...]

One of the best things about looking for a retirement home or vacation home in Panama is that there are several projects where you can live in the mountains but be just half an hour away from beaches and golf courses of the Pacific Coast area.  Las Nubes is one such project- a really beautiful [...]

One of the best things about looking for a  retirement home or vacation home in Panama is that there are several projects where you can live in the mountains but be just half an hour away from beaches and golf courses of the Pacific Coast area. Las Nubes is one such project-  a really beautiful [...]

My family from California recently visited from California and one of the places I took them was of course Boquete.  We decided to go river rafting with the John Miller’s Boquete Outdoor Adventures,  an outdoor adventure tour operator specializing in custom adventure travel vacations including river and ocean  kayaking and rafting.   John is a [...]

I just spent a weekend visiting Cerro La Vieja Hotel (CLV) in a private nature reserve in the mountains of Cocle province hosted by owner Alfonso Jaen and his fine family. Alfonso Jaen along with Carlos Alfaro of Los Quetzales in Chiriqui and Raul Arias de Para of Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge [...]

Folks,
These are comments I made as President of the Tourism Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce at the Amcham tourism forum Sept. 10th.

It is time for Panama to decide to become the eco- tourism destination it is meant to be and also to take serious measures to stop the relentless destruction of its forests.

Nancy Hanna

The title of this forum is“Panama Tourism at a Crossroads” Why? Because now that we have all the basics in place, it is time to decide on what kind of tourism destination Panama should become. When I first began Panamainfo.com to promote tourism to Panama 10 years ago, I thought Panama would naturally copy Costa Rica in becoming an ecotourism destination but even better because Panama has even more eco destinations than CR, plus more beaches and Indian cultures, history and an attractive capital city. So I thought -this is great- Panama will copy all the good CR has done and learn from the errors- but after 10 years not much has happened, especially in regard to Panama’s becoming a eco-destination. Right now, most of our tourists are coming for business or shopping …80% of our tourists stay in Panama City, about 10% get out to Decameron area, at most 10% go to attractions in the interior like Bocas or Boquete etc. In CR it is the opposite- 90% of their tourists do not stay in San Jose- but get out to the attractions outside the city.

In CR, the president made a decision that CR would be a ecotourism destination and they have been wildly successful. Panama has not made that decision.

In fact, Panama’s nature is being destroyed . It is losing 48,000 hectares of forest each year mostly through burning and indiscriminate logging. At the current rate of destruction, in 40 years we won’t have any more forests- a situation with serious ecological consequences not only for tourism but for the beauty of Panama, the climate and the Canal watershed among other things.

Why have we not done as CR? Ecotourism and tourism is the # 1 business for CR- it is just about the only game in town. Panama hasn’t done the same as CR because Panama is very blessed – it has so much else going on business-wise- the Canal, the free zone, the banking sector, its growing position as a logistical and regional business capital etc. Because Panama tourism is not Panama’s only income earner, while private enterprise did a lot to promote tourism, the government did not do serious work for make tourism happen until Minister Blades came along.

Today I would like to propose that Panama do what it takes become an ecotourism destination. There are strong arguments that this is the best and most desirable kind of tourism. Several presentations during this forum will speak to this issue.

For ecotourism, Panama’s greatest natural treasures are its national parks –Soberania, Bastimientos in Bocas, Coiba, Amistad y Volcan Baru and the Darien. 4 years ago I brought to this forum to speak the head of CR’s National Parks- after making a major investment in an attractive visitor infrastructure in their national parks, CR makes a profit of 20 million dollars a year from their national parks.

Costa Rica’s success shows us that when Panama develops a national park infrastructure the valued eco-tourists will come.

To conclude I would like to take this opportunity to announce that the American Chamber of Commerce- the tourism committee and the our strong environmental committee with the support of the Board is working on a professional proposal for the president of Panama for a National Park visitor infrastructure, an infrastructure which will generate thousands of jobs and businesses for the people in the interior of the country and generate the funds to preserve Panama’s extraordinary nature .

Folks,
Below are the comments I made about Minister Ruben Blades in his presence at the Sept. 11th American Chamber of Commerce Tourism Forum at the Sheraton attended by 380 persons.

Panama is very, very fortunate to have had Minister Blades as tourism minister these crucial years. I don’t know anybody else who had the clout to get done what needed to be done. See below for details.

Nancy

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Minister Blades for all he has achieved for tourism.

If Panama was to become a major tourism destination, the government had to do certain basic things. First IPAT had to become an independent, professional authority- with all the powers a tourism authority needs. Minister Blades you accomplished that. Secondly, Panama needed a professional, comprehensive tourism master plan, one that would not be thrown out with each change of government. Minister Blades you accomplished that. Third, IPAT needed a system where substantial funds for a promotional budget are available every year without stopping. Minister Blades you accomplished that. Among your many other accomplishments, you solved the tour operators’ decades long transportation problem and you created a more lean and mean and professional IPAT office. Because of these institutionalized accomplishments, the government of Panama for the first time is in a true position develop and promote tourism.

We didn’t see you at too many social events…You used all your enormous energy, personal celebrity, moral authority, your sharp business skills and your artistic genius to create an IPAT that could do its job. I have heard so many really interesting stories of the things you have done behind the scenes to help tourism projects that would be good for Panama.

And perhaps most importantly you haven given Panama a modern day example of a true patriot. To be tourism minister these five years, you sacrificed your music career and millions of dollars in personal income. I am told this is unprecedented in Panama’s history. Thank you for your sacrifice, your example, your accomplishments Minister Blades.”