Panama needs to understand that AirBnB will increase tourism and cooperate fully with the company and do most other places in the world.

Because the legislation currently does not allow the collaborative hosting economy platform to operate in the country’s capital, the company expressed an interest in working with the authorities to remove the ban.

For now, the platform only offers the public accommodation in the interior of the country, the most popular destinations being Bocas del Toro, Río Hato, Boquete, Chiriquí and Playa Gorgona.

You may be interested in “Threats to ‘Traditional’ tourism”

Carlos Muñoz, Airbnb’s general manager of Public Policies for Central America and the Caribbean, told Prensa.com that they want “… to work with the authorities to allow them to transform local legislation and authorize the operation of the lodging platform in Panama City, because it is currently limited to the interior of the country.”

Muñoz added that “… There is a ban on short accommodations like the Airbnb model in the capital city, outside of Panama City, lodging is perfectly allowed and what we are looking for is to eliminate that ban in order to forcefully invest in Panama with promotional and tourist campaigns.”

Also see “New Attempt to Regulate Airbnb”

At the beginning of the year, Airbnb executives reported that between 2017 and 2018 the number of visitors who demanded its services in Panama increased by 65%. This situation contrasts with the decline in hotel occupancy recorded in recent years in Panama.