Moderators Moderator_02 Posted January 22, 2020 Moderators Share Posted January 22, 2020 Quote Hotel Sector Bets on Events In order to increase hotel occupancy in Panama, business people believe that the country should focus on attracting clients in the segment of meetings, conferences, exhibitions and congresses, events that could become the lifeline of the sector. Monday, January 20, 2020 According to reports from the General Comptroller of the Republic, in October 2019, hotels in Panama City reported an average daily occupation of 4,457 rooms, 5% less than the same month in 2018. You may be interested in "Tourism and Travel: Consumer Interests and Preferences" Regarding the bet on the events market, Ernesto Orillac, president of the National Chamber of Tourism of Panama (Camtur), told Elcapitalfinanciero.com that "... you can start with medium sized meetings, with averages of 800 people, and then work on large congresses, with participation of 2,000 to 3,000 attendees, as a fast track to increase occupancy and rates." Liriola Pitti, director general of the Panama International Tourism Promotion Fund (Promtur), explained that "... Events and conventions tourists, in the case of Panama, spend an average of $400 while leisure tourists invest close to $230. We have enough infrastructure for this type of tourism." It is estimated that globally, the average expenditure of a meeting tourist is $704 per day, with an economic return of 160% for each dollar invested. Source: elcapitalfinanciero.com https://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Hotel_Sector_Bets_on_Events Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted January 31, 2020 Moderators Share Posted January 31, 2020 Quote Bonus time for visitors as Panama hotel industry in doldrums Posted 30/01/2020 Panama hotel occupancy has plunged to an all-time low of less than 39 % from a high point of over 68% 10 years ago when optimists in the travel industry thought the country was on its way to becoming a world-class destination and investors rushed to overbuild new hostelries. Due to the lack of promotion between 2012 and 2016, the numbers of the sector plummeted, and last year the occupation ended at 41% leading to the loss of thousands of jobs in the hotel and restaurant sector. For visitors, it is the best of times as hotel rates room rates continue to fall. La Prensa reports that January will close with an occupancy of 39% in hotels in the capital city, numbers that have not been seen since 2004. Armando Rodríguez, president of the Panama Hotel Association (Apatel) said that "we are reaping what we sow", referring to the lack of promotion of recent years. The downturn has led to the loss of over 6,000 jobs in the hotel and restaurant sector and has sparked an increase in sub-letting of apartments, although in theory rentals must be for a minimum of 45 days. https://www.newsroompanama.com/travel/bonus-time-for-visitors-as-panama-hotel-industry-in-doldrums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted February 22, 2020 Moderators Share Posted February 22, 2020 Quote Hotel Occupancy Remains Down in 2019 Last year, hotels in Panama City reported an average daily occupancy of 4,571 rooms, 1% less than in 2018. Thursday, February 20, 2020 December the daily average of occupied rooms did not register significant changes with respect to the same month last year, going from 4,307 to 4,281.You may be interested in "Tourism and Travel: Consumer Interests and Preferences"During 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, hotel occupancy levels have fallen compared to each of the previous years. Although last year's fall was minimal, this trend has not been reversed.On the other hand, between December 2018 and the same month in 2019 the number of rooms available did not grow as it remained at 10,205.See full statistics (in Spanish). https://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Hotel_Occupancy_Remains_Down_in_2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted March 13, 2021 Moderators Share Posted March 13, 2021 Quote Hotels are Looking to Improve their finances As a result of the sanitary crisis caused by the covid-19 outbreak, hotel occupancy in Panama has fallen to historic levels and business income has gone up in smoke, a situation that is forcing hotels to look for options to renegotiate their debts. Thursday, March 11, 2021 It is estimated that in this context of economic crisis, Panamanian hotels owe $630 million to financial institutions. Given the unpromising outlook, businessmen of the sector have suggested to the government to support the reactivation of the tourist activity. You may be interested in "Travel and Tourism: Interest Rising in the Region" Armando Rodriguez, president of the Panamanian Association of Hotels (Apatel), told Laestrella.com.pa that "... in October 2020 32% of the hotels opened and by December another 36% should have started operations and the rest in the first quarter of the year. But because of the closure decreed by the health authorities in December last year, only 36% of the hotels of our membership are open with a capacity of 30% at this moment. The rest will not open until there are optimal conditions." In August 2020 a dialogue table was held between the authorities and representatives of the hoteliers, in that process the businessmen recommended to work on incentivizing the banks so that they can renegotiate the debt of the tourism companies, however, after almost seven months of having presented it, they still have not received a response from the government. See "Travel and Tourism: Interest on the rise in the region" Ivan Eskildsen, minister of the Panama Tourism Authority (ATP), assures that "... a $300 million program is underway with the Inter-American Development Bank and the Ministry of Economy and Finance that seeks to facilitate guarantees for loans in order to restructure the debt of tourism companies registered with the ATP, which may be hotels, travel agencies, tour operators and the category of others, in which companies dedicated to the industry qualify. It is expected that between March and April the Cabinet Council will approve the project so that government funds will be provided as guarantee. The hotels are the ones that owe the biggest slice of the cake". There are businessmen who believe that it is not only a matter of re-adjusting the debts. Anneth Cardenas, a local hotelier, pointed out that it is necessary "... that the industry of events and conventions be opened, otherwise we will not be able to compete with other destinations. Panama does not register in international tourism, while, for example, in cities like Miami, United States, vaccine tourism has full restaurants and hotels'." Source: laestrella.com.pa https://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Hotels_are_Looking_to_Improve_their_finances Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 26, 2021 Moderators Share Posted April 26, 2021 Quote Panama hotels at 10% occupancy Posted 25/04/2021 Less than half of the hotels in the country are operating and their occupancy closed the first quarter below 10%, which is attributed to the measures imposed to fight the coronavirus pandemic After the closure of tourism businesses for more than 8 months last year, the first three months of 2021 were a challenge for the sector due to sanitary measures to face the new variants of SARS-CoV-2 . The Panama Hotel Association, whose members have 22,000 rooms out of a total of 32,000 in the country, confirmed that less than 50% have resumed operations. Some such as RIU, Plaza, and Hard Rock have denied the definitive closure of their operations and assure that they are waiting for the best moment to reopen. To increase the arrival of tourists, the International Promotion Fund has signed alliances with at least six airlines and with tourist reservation and promotion platforms. The Fund estimates that the agreement with the hotelbeds.com platform will generate $20 million in foreign exchange for Panamanian tourism this year. https://www.newsroompanama.com/travel/panama-hotels-at-10-occupancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 12, 2021 Moderators Share Posted August 12, 2021 Quote Panama hotels record 7% occupancy Posted 11/08/2021 Panama hotels with 32,000 available rooms achieved only seven percent occupancy between January and July of 2021 when the optimum level should be 60%. The pandemic ended up sinking a sector that was already showing signs of exhaustion largely due to overbuilding. Only 38% of hotels have reopened. Armando Rodríguez, president of the Panama Hotel Association (Apatel) says, the occupation result revealed today is the product of mobility restrictions, such as curfew, checkpoints, and quarantine imposed by the Ministry of Health, as part of the strategy to combat the coronavirus. Another factor that has affected the low hotel occupancy is the bad publicity that the country has gained in recent months due to complaints from passengers trying to enter the country, Rodríguez said. Via social networks, travelers complain about the hours they wait in line to get the PCR test when they had already done it in their country of origin. "The mandatory three-day quarantine is maintained for travelers from South America, who now represent 60% of visitors arriving in the country," he added. https://www.newsroompanama.com/travel/panama-hotels-record-7-occupancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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