View of Valle Escondido, in Boquete, Chiriquí, a real-estate project for retirees.

The main residential projects designed for the growing number of second-home buyers and foreign retirees in Panama have recently joined forces to launch Prima Panama, an international marketing project seeking to transform the country into the strongest magnet for foreign expats in Central America.

Headed by Sam Taliaferro, one of the pioneers of the current real-estate boom, Prima Panama is launching an aggressive, promotional campaign of Panama in the United States and Europe with a series of TV infomercials, the launching of a magazine in the United States and through internet marketing.

Since the construction of Valle Escondido, Mr. Taliaferro’s project in Boquete five years ago foreigners have been moving to Panama in increasing numbers, attracted by the country’s great tax incentives, highly-developed services and infrastructure, health benefits, security, climate and low cost of living. The trend has prompted the construction of gated communities in mountain, city and beach areas, such as Buena Ventura, Coronado Country Club Resort, El Alcázar, Isla Viveros, Altos del María , Los Molinos, Ocean Park, Tucan and Vista Mar.

The main goal of Prima Panama is to attract 30,000 foreign residents to Panama, the arrival of whom represents an injection of US$15 billion into Panama’s economy in the next 8-10 years.

Says Augusto Terracina:

"The Carnival Liberty" - the largest luxury vessel to call at Panama so far.

It seems as if members of Panama’s fledging cruise ship industry have their hands full this season, with over 60 ships expected to call at Panamanian ports by May of 2006. On November 27 four ships called at the same time –a rare occurrence in a country with only five years of experience in luxury vessel tourism (although this is certainly not uncommon in other ports of the Caribbean). Earlier this month, a veritable sea mammoth: the Carnival Liberty, with 3,700 passengers and 1,300 crew members on board, became the largest ship to call at Panama since the launching of the first luxury-vessel facility in late 2000.

The obvious question is: What’s behind this rapid growth? Is it the result of changes in world tourism after 9/11?

According to Mr. Augusto Terracina, General Manager of the Aventuras 2000 tour company –a subsidiary of the Colón 2000 cruise port conglomerate—the emergence of Panama as a cruise ship destination is the result of the fame of the Panama Canal as a tourist attraction. "The Canal is definitely one of the most marketed destinations among cruise companies in the region", said Terracina, who also stressed the uniqueness of the tour packages offered to passengers as another strong draw.

"For several years in a row, cruise ship passengers continue to vote the ocean-to-ocean train tour as one of the best of the Caribbean cruise industry. The experiences the passengers enjoy visiting the Native American villages of the Panama Canal watershed are also extremely popular. After all, not many other regional cruise destinations offer visitors seven authentic Native American tribes", he said.

Members of the Emberá Native American nation. Tours to Emberá villages along the Panama Canal watershed are extremely popular among cruise passengers.

Although Panama is still a long ways from becoming a "home port", and despite the fact that cruise ship passengers stay an average of 10 hours on Panamanian soil, industry members are confident that the country’s cruise ship program is slowly, but surely increasing the number of second-time visitors to Panama. Voicing this sentiment, Terracina told The Visitor that Colón 2000 has started the construction of a 106-bedroom hotel within its Caribbean complex, which is expected to be ready in a year. In addition to this, Canal & Bay Tours, another subsidiary of Colón 2000, has recently purchased a new, 600-passenger vessel to be used in its partial and complete transits of the Panama Canal.

Terracina also addressed the topic of security in the city of Colón, which has experienced an increase of gang violence in recent weeks. He said: "Although we are concerned about the situation, everybody knows the violence is between gang members, not against tourists. The residents of Colón continue to welcome and protect their visitors. We are working closely with the National Police to monitor all security procedures, which also involves a troop of local residents who patrol the streets on their bicycles", he commented.

Written by the Rhino Real Estate Team

Panama offers great incentives for foreigners who live here. For retired people older than 55, Panama offers additional incentives and exonerations of taxes. Come see the beautiful landscapes and very reasonable prices for real estate and you will understand why respected institutions such as AARP and International Living declare Panama one of the best retirement locations in the world.

If you are older than 55 (60 for men) you have the following benefits: 50% discount on ticket prices for admission to movies, sporting events, concerts and other public shows.

Discount on Panamanian transportation: 30% for buses, trains ships; 25% on flights within Panama. 50% Discount on rack rates for hotel rooms in Panama. (includes, motels, B & Bs, and resorts). 30% on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. 25% Off restaurant bills (except those who do not require a commercial license) 15% Off fast food franchise meals. 15 % discount on hospital services and other health services when it is covered by health insurance. 10% discount in pharmacies, even prescription medicine. 20% discount for physician fees, even specialists. The 15% discount on health services are applied by insurance companies to their rates. 20% Discount on prosthesis and health products. 20% off technical and professional services. 50% Discount on costs or commissions of personal and commercial loans. 15% Discount on loan rates for personal and commercial loans. 1% discount on the interest rates for mortgages taken out for personal uses. (Except when there are special rates constituted by law.) No real estate tax, when you hold real estate in your own name and you have only 1 property in Panama. 50% Discount on the cost of the passport. 25% off electric, telephone services and water bills.

For more information, send an e-mail to: sales@rhinopanama.com