Panama tourism bouncing back

In 2022 more than 1.8 million travelers visited Panama more than double the 800,000 in 2021, when the country began to recover from the pandemic, tourism manager Iván Eskildsen told La Estrella de Panamá.

For 2023 the Tourism Authority (ATP) projects a flow of 2 to 2.4 million visitors

From January to September 2022, official figures from the Comptroller General the arrival of 1.3 million travelers, which until then represented triple last year for the same date.

The entity reported an increase of 117% compared to the same period last.

hotel occupancy stood at 54%. Data from the Panamanian Hotel Association (Apatel) reflect a hotel occupancy for the month of September of 51%, while for October it was 52.6% and in November it was 53.3%. Although the data for the month of December will be available in mid-January, experience from other years shows that it is one of the busiest months.

Last weekend the Old Town came alive with the number of tourists who participated in New Year’s Eve parties, toasted in bars, and ate in restaurants in one of the most touristy areas of the city.

The Directorate of Migration recorded up to the month of November 2.4 million entries into the country and 2 million exits. Of this figure, 1.7 million entries and 1.6 million exits correspond to foreigners. Most arrive by air (2.1 million), followed by land (170,000 and sea (73,000) Several hotels improved occupancy in December taking into account that it is the beginning of the best time to visit Panama, the dry season that runs from mid-December to mid-April.

Americans lead the list of visitors, followed by Colombians, Costa Ricans, Venezuelans, Ecuadorians, Spaniards, Argentinians,

 Mexicans, and Brazilians.