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More Europeans and British are visiting Panama. Panama’s department of tourism notes that tourism numbers from the European Union are up 23% in late 2008 over 2007 figures. It is no surprise that the largest number of European tourists come from Spain with 14,820 visitors so far in 2008.

According to the Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá or ATP (Panama’s Department of Tourism) there has been a 13,373 person increase in tourism from Europe in 2008 compared to 2007. ATP attributes the increase to greater effort to attract tourists from Europe.

Promoting Panama Tourism in the European Union

ATP says that it invests $1.8 million USD in promoting Panama tourism in Europe. This is about 30% of ATP’s publicity budget. European tourists (Panama lumps British and Continental tourists together) tend to stay longer than other tourists making them more profitable for Panama.

A Panama delegation just returned from a visit to London’s World Travel Market. An additional plus for European tourism in Panama is the increased number of direct flights from Panama to Europe. Travel experts note that people tend to vacation more in locations when they do not spend extra time connecting through third countries.

Panama Europe Tourism and Doing it Right

Panama seems to be doing something right as it attracts tourism from Europe not to mention the rest of the world. Panama hopes to attract 1.8 million tourists in 2008. Attracting more tourists who stay longer is a plus.

British Investment in Panama

Not only has Panama gained more tourism from Great Britain and the Continent but Panama has a huge megaproject just started by London and Regional Properties of Great Britain.

London and Regional Properties will be developing a large commercial and residential complex on the grounds of decommissioned Howard Air Force Base along the Panama Canal. According to press reports Howard Air Force Base will now be the Pacific Panama Economic Area. The Pacific Panama Economic Area will eventually cost $750 million USD to develop although the project is expected to evolve over decades. The developers are expecting investment by multinational corporations for their Latin American offices as well as other real estate uses.

As Panama widens its trade and tourism relationships expect to see more British and European Union investment in Panama as well as more European tourism in Panama.

Panama is thriving economically. This all started when the USA handed over the Panama Canal at the end of 1999. The world’s perception of Panama as a US colony has gradually dissipated. Now Panama is widening its trade relationships and, as noted above, attracting a wider range of tourism from Europe.

Investment opportunities in Panama include businesses that support tourism infrastructure as well as dealing with tourists. For a commercial real estate investment involving the tourism industry come to see us at ABPanama. We do business throughout Panama and have over twenty-three years experience managing real estate portfolios.