Bargain time for visitors as Panama hotel rates fall

VISITOR’S to Panama who plan to stay in a hotel in the capital city. will find themselves in a buyers’ market as a more than100 percent increase in room supply has precipitated a price war With more rooms than visitors to fill them, hotel occupancy rate has been in a steady decline since 2011, and the increase in visitors is exceeded by the number of available rooms, with more hotels still under construction.

So the battle is on as individual hotels.try to attract travelers and increase the occupancy rate which on average is not more than 60%. In 2011 it stood at 68.6% dropping to 59.3% this year, according to figures from the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP).
In contrast to this, the number of tourists arriving in the country and the expenditure made during their stay in the country has not stopped growing.

La Estrella. reports that “… the supply has grown so fast that it is virtually impossible for demand to catch up.
Ernesto Orillac, of the ATP said the drop in hotel occupancy “was seen coming because of an increase in supply of over 100%.”

Orillac added that “… the increase in rooms has caused a price war ‘… which has resulted in rate cuts of up to 30%”, which is good newsfor tourists but bad for companies, says Jorge Campuzano, president of Panama’s Chamber of Tourism (CAMTUR).