Europe-Panama cruise ship flow upswing

THE GROWING stream of cruise ship passengers arriving in Panama from Europe will continue this season when Aida Mar, of the German shipping company Aida Cruises, arrives at the Colon Harbor 2000, on Friday, November 17, with  3000 passengers.

In the early hours of Monday, November 20, Mein Schiff 6 of the German TUI group will dock with 3,500 passengers in the province of Colón,

Both shipping companies will travel to Panama until March 2018. The German company TUI, one of the largest tour operators in the world made its debut in the Panamanian market on November 21, 2016, with the arrival in Puerto Colon  2000  of Mein Schiff 4, with more than 3,000 aboard.

After its debut on the Panamanian coast, the company made 10 trips, from November 2016 to April this year, with 3,500 passengers at each departure, and from November to April 2018 is scheduled to make another  10 stops as, part of its service in the Caribbean.

Aida Cruises have more than 10 years of docking in Colon, with between five and 10 a year.

Augusto Terracina, the manager of Colón 2000, said that it is also showing interest in the arrival of Thompson Cruises and Carnival UK in England are also showing interest in Panama.

According to Terracina, this year is expected to close with 150 cruise stops in Colon 2000, throughout the cruise season, with an economic impact above $50 million. dollars. The shipping company Pullmantur is disembarking all year which involves A city tour, a tour of the Canal and shopping. “The European always asks for more activities: to know the Canal, region, ecology and historical sites like San Lorenzo, Portobelo and Casco Antiguo, in the city of Panama,” he said.

A cruise ship passenger spends about $150 on food, transportation and shopping. And the renewal of the City of Colon and Colon Free Zone  “will increase the province’s tourism potential significantly,” he said.