Matt Lauer and Justine Pasek, Panama's first Miss Universe.

Millions of early-morning TV viewers in the U.S. enjoyed a complete, three-hour edition of The Today Show broadcast from Panama. Famous news anchor Matt Lauer and a crew of 30 mounted what can be considered the best promotional show on Panama in recent years.

Interviewing Rubén Blades, Panama's Tourism Minister.

The program included locations such as the Gatún Locks (the largest set of the Panama Canal), the Barro Colorado natural reserve (visited each year by hundreds of scientists from around the world), Panama City, and interviews with Justine Pasek (Miss Universe 2002) and Panama's flamboyant Minister of Tourism, Rubén Blades. The show coincided with the official visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to Panama.

One of the longest-running TV shows in history, The Today Show is viewed by approximately 7 million people. It is aired on NBC.

Matt Lauer on a "Red Devil" bus.

Lasting memories of our visitor.

December 1

The Visitor promoted Panama in Colombia.

AeroRepública, one of Colombia’s most important airlines, recently invited the Panama Government Tourist Bureau (IPAT) and private-sector representatives of the country’s tourist industry to promote Panama in the cities of Cali, Cartagena and Medellín. The tour was headed by Omar Ching, IPAT’s International Marketing Director.

Panama is the first international destination of AeroRepublica. The airline will start a service of scheduled flights between Tocumen International Airport and the above-mentioned cities on December 1.

Founded in 1992, AeroRepública transports over two million passengers each year. In 2003, the airline received the ISO 9001 certification. In 2004, Copa, Panama’s private-owned national carrier purchased a majority of the AeroRepública’s stocks, and establishing a strategic alliance with the Colombian airline.

Mr. Omar Ching, International Marketing Manager of IPAT.

From left to right: Annie Young, Michael Steinberger (President of Latin Tour Dimensions), and Frederik Nordstrom (Deputy Manager of IPAT).

Five Panamanian tour operators recently joined forces to present "The Path Between Two Oceans", a cluster of tourist sites and resorts located along the Panama Canal area. The participating companies are Eco Circuitos Panamá, Experience Panama, Margo Tours, Turista Internacional and Vacaciones.

Backed by COMPITE (a joint Panamanian-U.S. program offering technical/financial assistance to tourist projects), the Panama Government Tourist Bureau (IPAT) and the USAID, the project has a single objective: to offer the verdant national parks (a currently underused asset), rivers, Native American communities, the unique towns of the former Canal Zone, ports and nature trails as a single tourist destination. In other words, according to Richard Mangrich, Director of USAID’s Economic Development and Environment Office, the project’s objective is to take advantage of "assets that have always been there, but largely ignored due to the traditional, tourist promotion of the Panama Canal".

The new cluster has launched a number of tour packages including bird watching excursions, tours to the Caribbean town of Portobelo (rich in Spanish colonial history), visits to the Emberá Native American communities of Chagres National Park, excursions to museums/ historical sites related to the Panama Canal, and biking/hiking excursions at Soberanía National Park.

The project’s representatives will begin the international promotion of the cluster with a tour of the State of California in January.

The members of the foreign press and protocol personnel that covered the official visit of President George W. Bush to Panama earlier this month were the guests of honor of a barbecue party held at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador, in La Cresta.

The guests were able to enjoy a fun, tropical evening, filled with tropical music, dancing and comraderie.