Promotion of canal tourism

Despite everything campaigns and recent efforts to diversify our tourism, The extraordinary magnet that puts Panama on the map of world tourism is still its channel. It is very easy to analyze its roots.

During their first history lessons, schoolchildren in the United States are instilled with a preconceived narrative that focuses on the development of what called Western Civilization with a focus on its quasi-European originsturning the page on the development of a great power with its beginnings in Jamestown a century after the discovery of the isthmus, where at the turn of the 20th century it openly occupied what it calls “the Americas”, nothing less than the rest of the American continent with the exception of Canada, replacing the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 with the policy of Big Stick, which starts construction of the Panama Canal.

This removes the veil from the fascination with the isthmus, its enormous appeal as a tourist destination, in the lagging subcontinent, for most visitors to Panamathat come from the United States of America and that is why, for example, crossings through the Channel are the number one attraction for cruise ship passengers.

Therefore, it must be used with strength, with an absent spirit, which transcends the shame which the outdated Miraflores visitor center, currently in a state of abandonment, but diverged in the absence of thinking minds that can metamorphically increase the value of the experience, taking advantage to make strong use of other surrounding attractions. We strongly suggested more than a decade ago since it trenches of the APEDE tourist commission, before the deaf ears of our authorities, the establishment of an ecological park, unique in the world on the shores of Lake Gatun, under the auspices of Disney and the Smithsonian, as an example to multiply the meager figures of national tourism.

Under this scheme, all cruise ships passing through the canal would make a mandatory stopover of at least two days at the lake, to provide visitors with an unparalleled experience. The arid panorama of our current endeavors reflects the frighteningly barren numbers in relation to countries in the area. Many accuse us of unfairly pointing the finger at Mexico, which is a power. of the world in tourism. The second, about a dazzling phenomenon The Dominican Republic or the resonant “Pura Vida” our neighbors Costa Rica.

Examining other cases, let’s see how it shows Banamas Islands, where we see a sparkling rebirth after COVID. Until 2025 The archipelago received 9,654,838 visitors, an increase of 38% year-on-year and a 33% increase from the previous record of 2019. Why does Panama reflect official figures that reflect 25% of the Bahamas’ results? The catechism of local tourism requires a drastic change. Simply continuing with more of the same leads to growth negatively compared to our competitors. Simply put, we need to polish the existing inventory and butter with vision and creativity the bread of new magnets that enable a multiplicative takeoff driven by processes, not tradition.