OFF THE CUFF: Panamas service challenge

Panama’s Chamber of Tourism is looking to get some long-term gains from World Youth Day (WYD) that is expected to bring up to 400,000 pilgrims flocking to the country for what is really a week-long affair.

In the short term, it’s anticipated that the January  2019 event will help erase some of the red stains from the balance sheets of the hospitality industry with hotels currently facing a 40 percent occupancy rate leading to closures restaurants struggling to survive and casinos in a downward spiral.

The Chamber also sees some long opportunities arising from the bonanza, as statistics show that 50 percent of those who have attended previous WYD’s have returned to visit the country.

But for Panama, there is the danger that notoriously poor service could leave a hole in the welcome mat with a “never again” follow up on social media around the world.

Hospitality services will be under stress with the massive inflow of visitors, making the challenge more acute.

In a long-delayed attempt to solve the problem the Chamber is initiating a program to provide service training for selected personnel, with the initial cadre set to become the next generation of trainers.

As the  WYD countdown clock in Parque Urraca clicks on remorselessly, there’s no time to waste.

The least that can happen is a few more hospitality nodes where the customer feels welcome and the server feels constrained to remove the dirty plates.  maybe later the service culture will spread to retail outlets and staff can put their smartphones aside to attend to customers.