Paying airlines to visit for the birds

PANAMA’S TOURISM authority’s strategy of  paying airlines to attract new flights has been squashed by the country’s comptroller.

The move has described by CentralAmericaData says :”Despite the proven success of the strategy to financially support international airlines so that they include Panama among their destinations, the Tourism administrator has announced that because the Comptroller ‘does not look favorably’ on this promotion mechanism, they are evaluating others under which a better return on investment can be measured.” says CentralAmericaData.

Gustavo Him, administrator of the ATPsaid that they will cease paying the agreements signed with the previous administration, Most of the agreements had a duration of three to four years and a payment was established for each frequency, ranging between $200,000  and and $250,000.

Prensa.com reports that “…He said that … they are developing a mechanism to quantify the return on investment, and then create a support mechanism for airlines that decide to fly to Panama. ‘All of them ask us for support, but we should be cautious, because if we give money to all of them [airlines], we will run out of money’. “