The increase in the average number of days that tourists stayed in the country was not enough to offset the drop in hotel occupancy, which fell to 50% in the first quarter of this year.
The difficulties that hotel sector is facing due to the lack of international promotion of the country as a tourist destination and the oversupply of rooms registered in the country explains the downward trend which is still being seen in hotel occupancy rates.
It is hoped that the international promotion which the Tourism Authority will start once it has completed the tender process will help improve the sector’s performance.
The occupancy rate dropped to 50% in the during the first quarter of 2016, which is a reduction of 9% compared to the same period in 2015.
Figures from the General Comptroller’s Office indicate that in March 2016 there were 10,452 hotel rooms, similar to the same period in 2015, when 10,422 were recorded.
The daily average of overnight stays in the first quarter of 2016 was 11.3, higher than the 9.8 registered in the same period in 2015.
Free market fuck up. No stopping everyone and his sister from opening a hotel, so the occupancy rate goes down. Serves them right. Same as the condo market: overbuilt.
We loved going to Panama City and renting a condo for the week. Three bedrooms, furnished in good buildings and good neighborhood. But that was stopped by the hotel industry. Blaming that aspect of renting for their overbuilding. No government over site. Now they want the government to pay for their advertising. Let them pay to acvertise .Sounds like Republican welfare.
And where else in the world does the govt take 5% of cashing out in a casino? Which are some of the worst managed that Ive ever seen. Not even just on your winnings. If you are losing and cash out, you still lose another 5%.
But besides that, I love Panama and enjoy your newsletter.
The biggest problem Panama has is the tourism authority which has made many laws against the promotions of tourism in Panama in the name of protectionism in Panama. One of the main driver to tourist promotion in any country is small personal service companies and many of them run by foreigners but in Panama it takes years to get a license to promote tourism in Panama and is all but illegal for foreigners in Panama to promote and bring tourist to Panama. They have outlawed a lot of accommodation options for tourist in Panama so that tourists can only stay in government approved tourist accommodations (hotels) The idea is by forcing tourists to stay in hotels the occupancy would go up but so far since passing the law the occupancy has gone down every year. This is because for all tourists companies the tourist promotion laws are so restrictive that many companies do not promote Panama as it is basically illegal to promote Panama as a tourist destination Instead of spending $20 million with more government approved only tourist companies owned by relative of the government. The first thing Panama should do is open up the laws to allow companies to be involved in the tourist industry. This has worked in many countries and is the proven path to a successful tourist country. It should be simple and fast to get a tourist license in Panama open to most people. Not a highly restricted industry only open to a few rich Panamanians that are not that interested in the industry any way. In the end the biggest stoping point is that the Tourist authority of Panama outlaws tourist promotions companies in Panama.