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LA PRENSA| In recent years the face of tourism in Panama Europe and Latin America also show
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(Prensa.com) According to the Panama Tourism Authority (PTA), recorded before the boom of tourism in this country, the sectors involved are improving the infrastructure that supports this activity.
As part of this development, the hotel industry has decided to expand its capacity by building 10 000 new rooms in the coming years.
To the administrator of the ATP, Solomon Shamah, Panama is fashionable in the world of tourism and a sample of this phenomenon is attracting new segments of visitors from non-traditional markets.
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LA PRENSA One of the biggest attractions available to Panama is the Panama Canal, whose highly engineered infrastructure are a must for visitors
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Traditionally, the usual customers of the hotels Panamanians have been for decades the American and Canadian tourists, but in recent years the face of tourism in Panama is also European and American shows.
Of these, the most promising is the Europeans, from Spain, Holland, Germany, Italy and other countries of the old continent have been seduced by the charms of the Panamanian islands, historic monuments and tropical forests, among others. But one of the biggest attractions available to this small Central American nation, which has given a specific weight in world trade, is the Panama Canal, whose highly engineered infrastructure are a must for visitors.
Panama City streets reflected in the rise of this activity in their local shops are always busy with tourists in shopping for a souvenir or a family gift from the warm earth. In the central Via Veneto, located in the heart of the Panamanian capital, foreigners, dressed in casual clothes fill the restaurants, Internet cafes and handicraft shops, which are located on this street.
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LA PRENSA| The contribution of tourism in Panama accounts for 10% of the national economy.
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ECONOMIC IMPACT
The economic impact of tourism on the economy resulting in cost per thousand 246 million dollars that made the 1.2 million visitors who arrived during the first nine months of this year. According to estimates by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), the contribution of tourism in Panama accounts for 10% of the national economy. This position in the gross domestic product (GDP) of this country is reflected in large infrastructures that are being constructed as part of this industry, including hotel operations, commercial, transport and other recreational activities. A major source of increase in this sector is due to increase in the cruise industry on the coast of Panama, in both the Pacific and Atlantic ports where there are specialized in this activity. It is estimated that in the 2010-2011 season, which began last October and ends in June, ending with about 320,000 visitors who generate about $ 110 million.
During the season last year, cruise ship visitors per thousand incurred expenses of $ 408 million and this year these figures are expected to exceed one thousand 500 million dollars. The ATP, as part of a tourism development plan, developing a broad promotion of the attractions of Panama in the major cities of Europe with the aim of increasing the flow of visitors to this continent. With this effort and launch of commercial flights between Panama and Spain, are expected next year, the tourism industry will grow by about 6% compared with 2010