International tourism promotion ‘in agony’ due to Promtur cuts

Panama’s international tourism promotion dies after budget allocated for Tourism Promotion Fund (PROMTUR Panama), The destination marketing organization (DMO) will suffer a sharp cut by 2024.

After three years of consistent promotion, Tourism Promotion Fund (PROMTUR Panama), He will have only $10 million, out of the $20 million allocated by law, to compete with international markets, he explained. Fernando Fondevila, CEO of PROMTUR Panama for local media.

The above puts at risk all direct marketing campaigns carried out in the nine issuing markets, and also puts at risk strategic alliances that seek to drive short-term demand, particularly with airlines, online travel agencies and world-class wholesale operators.

It also affects the ability to attract new congresses and conventions, with Panama having great attributes to become a leading destination for the meetings industry in Latin America, Fondevila added.

Fondavila estimates a negative economic impact of the order of 1.1 billion dollars as a result of reduced capacity to develop international promotion activities.

In 2023, Promtur operated with a budget of around 20 million, with some actions carried over from the previous year, which represented an economic impact of close to 1.7 billion dollars, he indicated.

However, in recent years, Promtur Panama has suffered some cuts and late payments of its funds. The Law allocates 20 million dollars per year to Promtur, funds that saw cuts of 70% in 2021, 90% in 2022, although for these years they had actions from previous years, which will not happen in 2024, he indicated.

Resources are key to international promotion, Panama competes with countries that continue to invest heavily in international marketing and promotion with a large amount of resources. In other words, sustainable promotion with appropriate investments is one of the elements for achieving success as a country, say the tourism sector.

Mexico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua and Belize, They are among the big competitors, because they are countries that have similar attributes to Panama.

In view of this, both the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE) and the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP) requested the National Government to allocate

Tourism should be a priority sector given its ability to boost other productive activities in the country and therefore create hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs across the national geography, CCIAP stressed in a recent statement.

We need to attract tourists from the main markets, and we do this with constant and frequent promotion with the unique message ‘Panama, live for more’, said union president Adolfo Fábrega.