The Visitor recently took part in the Anato Tourism Fair, held February 28-March 2 in Bogotá, Colombia. Focus Publications (Int), S.A., the parent company of The Visitor and the Focus on Panama guide, was one of the 31 tourist-oriented firms and representatives of the Panama Government Tourist Board (IPAT) present at the fair. Focus Publications was represented by its Marketing and Public Relations Director, Patricia Puentes.

A fair for tourism professionals, Anato served as a venue to promote some of the country’s newest and upcoming attractions in the Latin American market, such as the Playa Bonita Intercontinental Hotel (under construction on Kobbe beach, just outside Panama City limits), Hotel Venetto (Panama City) and the excellent bargains offered at the new Multicentro, Multiplaza and Albrook malls. During the fair, representatives of Copa Airlines, Panama’s privately-owned national carrier, disclosed plans to increase flight frequency between Panama City and Bogotá.

For more information on upcoming international tourism fairs, see the calendar below this article.

Panamanian Vice-president to speak at Seatrade 2005

The Hon. Rubén Arosemena, Panama’s second Vice-president and General Director of the Maritime Authority of Panama (AMP) will be one of the guest speakers at this year’s Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention, scheduled March 14-17 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

Held for the first time in 1985, Seatrade is considered the world’s most important cruise ship industry trade fair.

Representatives form nearly 1,000 exhibiting companies and 100 countries will take part in the event, which, for the first time, will include and International Super Yacht Symposium, opened to designers, yacht builders, naval architects, brokers, and project managers.

The Panamanian delegation will take the opportunity to promote the country’s growing cruise industry, in addition to its overall tourism attributes. After a number of decades of inactivity, the country’s luxury vessel industry resurfaced in the late 1990’s and the early years of this century with modern port facilities on the Atlantic and the Pacific and on the banks of the Panama Canal. Each year, approximately 200,000 cruise ship passengers disembark on Panamanian shores to tour the colonial ruins of the province of Colón, take birdwatching trips to the country’s national park, or enjoy shopping excursions in Panama City.

Tocumen Airport gets major facelift

There is a lot of movement at Tocumen International Airport nowadays. Just as more and more visitors are arriving to the terminal so are cranes, bulldozers and construction workers. The country’s main port of entry is experiencing a major “surgical operation”, which will give the terminal a new façade, more space and additional facilities by early 2006.

Under the supervision of Tocumen S.A., the autonomous government entity that manages the facility, Tocumen Airport will undergo a three-step facelift with a cost of approximately US$70 million. The first phase of the work entails the construction of new satellites featuring modern, see-through tunnels, which are capable of adjusting to the size of each plane. The first two of the 21 new tunnels, each of which costs approximately US$250,000, are already in use.

The arrival of the new tunnels coincides with the construction of new, separate facilities for Immigration and Customs. “The purpose of this is to make more space in the present terminal for the growing numbers of passengers”, said Thays Domínguez, a member of the airport’s Corporate Communications Department, who also told The Visitor that the remodeled facilities will be equipped with the latest security features and high-quality amenities.

Extensive maintenance and expansion will also take place on the runways, both at the passenger terminal and at the adjacent cargo airport.

Tocumen International Airport is located 20 km (12 miles) northeast of Panama City. When its first terminal was built in 1947, it was considered one of the finest in Latin America. Although the present facilities were inaugurated in the mid-1970’s, the old terminal has been used ever since as a cargo airport.

Over 20 international carriers depart and land at Tocumen, which is linked to the capital by the Domingo Díaz Highway and the Corredor Sur expressway.