‘Panama Stop Over’ Seeks to Attract 300 Thousand Tourists Annually
The Panama Tourism Authority (ATP) and Promtur, together with Copa Airlines, officially launched the ‘Panama Stop Over’ campaign, an initiative that aims to attract 300,000 tourists annually by 2026. The ‘Panama Stop Over’ program allows passengers in transit through Tocumen International Airport to make a free stopover in Panama, from 24 hours to seven days, at no additional cost to the airfare. “We want more people to discover the cultural and natural diversity of Panama,” said Marco Ocando, senior marketing director for Copa Airlines.
“Panama Stop Over” has the alliance of 32 hotels, 33 restaurants and 6 tourist attractions, all with discounts ranging from 15% to 40%. According to Ocando, in 2019 there were 100,788 visitors with this program; 22,109 in 2020 and 31,721 in 2021. This drastic decrease was due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, this number of visitors increased to 108,429 tourists; 128,289 in 2023 and it is estimated that 2024 will close with 150 thousand visitors with “Stop Over”, with an economic impact of around 206 million dollars, representing approximately 8% of the total number of tourists visiting Panama.
The program is currently attracting between 13,000 and 14,000 tourists a month, according to Jorge Correa, deputy administrator of the ATP. Sixty percent of the passengers in this program come from four countries: Ecuador with 18%, Argentina with 16%, the United States with 15% and Brazil with 11%. It is estimated that 70% of passengers have not yet taken advantage of the program. Some $670,000 are expected to be invested in a new campaign, which runs from October 15 to February 2025, focused on attracting tourists from Colombia, Argentina and Brazil, in addition to the United States. Domingo de Obaldía, president of the Association of Restaurants and Related Businesses of Panama, explained that integrating restaurants into the program provides a new focus for the country’s tourism promotions.
“We have been checking the ‘Stop Overs’ of other airlines and they usually include special prices for hotels and restaurants. Logically, we must offer attractive proposals for tourists and sell them well,” he said. For his part, Antonio Alfaro, member of the board of directors of the National Chamber of Tourism and president of the Association of Gambling Administrators, said that various aspects must be strengthened to improve tourism in the country, such as advertising, tourist services and security. Since 2019, more than 320,000 people have been attracted to the country with the ‘Panama Stop Over’ program. Panama registers between 13 and 14 million visitors per year, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC).
