Getting a Visa just got easier

The Embassy of Canada in Panama has announce that visitor visas can now be applied for in Panama at the Embassy.

The Embassy staff now includes a Visa Processing Clerk who can review applications, inform applicants if their application is complete, and send the application to Guatemala --- all without any additional cost to the applicant. The visa will continue to be issued in Guatemala, but the application process can be started at the Embassy in Panama.

For more information contact: The Embassy of Canada, World Trade Center first floor, Galeria Comercial Panamá City, Panamá. Tel: (507) 265-9731, Fax: (507) 263-8083. E-mail: panam@international.gc.ca www.panama.gc.ca

Delta Airlines goes green

In a partnership with The U.S. Conservation Fund, Delta Airlines will become the first U.S. airline to implement a voluntary carbon offset program, by raising money to plant trees in sustainable managed forests around the world . The trees will help off-set carbon emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide from the air and converting it to oxygen as part of their natural processes.

Beginning on June 1, passengers will have the opportunity to make a donation to the fund when they purchase a ticket. One hundred per cent of the donation to the Conservation Fund program to plant trees and support the organizations outreach efforts.

The Flat Arch raises again

The emblematic "Arco Chato" --the free-standing flat arch that motivated the U.S. Congress to approve the construction of a canal through Panama, and which collapsed three and-a-half years ago, has been completely restored. The structure was formally delivered to the Panamanian government earlier this month by Multiholding, Ltd.

Architect Raúl Murillo said the construction represented an investment of US$300,000 and followed the original pattern used by the Dominican Fathers to build the structure, which was originally a part of the Santo Domingo Convent in 1678. All of the structure's original pieces were used.

Located in Panama City’s Old Quarter, the Flat Arch was part of one of the first convents and universities in what was then the "new" city of Panama (The Old Panama was destroyed during an attack by Sir Henry Morgan in 1671.) The building was abandoned in the 18th century, but the arch, which served as one of its beams, withstood the elements and the natural decay process for two more centuries –the evidence needed by the U.S. Congress to approve the Panama Canal route, as it proved the absence of major earthquakes on the Isthmus of Panama (Panama's closest competitor for the canal in those days, Nicaragua, is a territory prone to earquakes and volcanic activity. A major error was made by the Nicaraguan government when it issued a mail stamp depicting a train running between the country's numerous volcanoes just as the U.S. Congress was about to chose between the two routes.

Perhaps due to the constant vibrations caused by motor vehicles throughout the 20th century, the Flat Arch collapsed on November 7, 2003, four days after the country's centennial as an independent republic. The Old Quarter and the Old Panama ruins were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.

Big boost for tourism

Virgin Holidays comes to Panama

Virgin Holidays, one of the biggest tour operators in the United Kingdom, has included Panama in its 2008 Caribbean brochure, released last week.

This is a "first" for Panama’s tourist industry and especially good news for Bern Hotels, the Royal Decameron and Playa Blanca which will accommodate Virgin guests, and Copa Airlines which will ferry the holidaymakers to Panama from Cuba after their direct flight on Virgin Atlantic Airline from London.

Virgin Atlantic recently began scheduled flights to Cuba, which for Panamanian residents, could be a waystop to Europe as an alternative to the USA or Madrid.

Good news for Bern Hotels, Royal Decameron, Playa Blanca & Copa

One of Virgin Holidays’ main selling points is their "taste of adventure" theme under the banner "Panama Experience + Panama Beach" which offers Colonial Panama City, Boat trip on the Panama Canal, Aerial tram through the rainforest, Unspoiled rainforest and ecological trips, local indigenous Indian Tribes, and Pacific Coast Beach.

The two-week holiday which costs between £1,299 ($2,595) and £1,899 ($3,795) per person double occupancy, depending on dates, begins with a three-day breakfast-only stay in Panama City at the Crowne Plaza, with city tours, trips to Miraflores, Colon and the Free Zone and shopping which, with the exchange rate now over $2 to the pound sterling, will be a bonanza for the Brits.

Days 4-7 will be spent at Gamboa Rainforest Resort on half-board to "discover the secrets of the upper rainforest canopy" and visit the orchid and plant nurseries, the butterfly house and an Embera Village. A boat trip on the Canal is also offered.

After all this adventure, the guests will spend their last week at the all-inclusive hotels Playa Blanca or Royal Decameron on the Pacific coast.

Costa Rica is also offered in the 280 page brochure and this represents Virgin’s first Latin American offering apart from Mexico which has long been a favorite.

Nowhere to go but UP

Panama looking to best GDP Growth in Latin America

Panama is looking forward to the best GDP growth in Latin America for 2008, according to the Latin Business Chronicle.

The worst growth is predicted for Venezuela, which ironically is part of the reason Panama is forecast to do so well as thousands of Venezuelans look to invest in Panamanian housing and other business ventures. Foreign direct investment in Venezuela is also expected to drop, because of nervousness over the policies of President Chavez.

The Chronicle says that Panama will likely expand its GDP by 6.8 percent next year, which is higher than any other economy in Latin America. That follows four years of solid growth averaging 7.3 percent each year.

In contrast to Venezuela, where prices are expected to rise dramatically, Panama will have the second lowest inflation rate in Latin America in 2008 at only 2.4 percent.

For tourists and new residents, that makes it the place to be.

New Culture & Arts Center for Panama

Finca La Maya a new 500 square meter Arts Center is located on forty scenic acres an hour from Panama City and minutes from spectacular Pacific coast beaches. The spacious and light-filled structure is versatile - providing numerous areas for meetings, art courses, yoga, or group activities. The 110 square meter air-conditioned indoor classroom is matched by an equally large covered outdoor balcony area. Additional outdoor studios offer space usable for construction, ceramic, or sculpture projects.

The cultural retreat is available for instructors of all kinds to bring small groups for deeper investigation of whatever disciplines they teach: painting, photography, yoga, holistic medicine, or other types of retreats.

Finca La Maya welcomes course or session proposals from private groups. Group rates are available.

The hacienda style lodge provides spacious accommo-dation for up to sixteen individuals with air conditioned rooms, delicious gourmet meals prepared with locally grown ingredients, beautifully landscaped gardens, a pool with jacuzzi, horses, and many other attractive amenities. A two-minute garden walk leads from the residence to the Arts Center.

Finca La Maya encourages world travelers, vacationers, tourists and local residents to discover art and culture in Panama, learn new skills, enrich or discover their own talents, and have a relaxing tropical vacation.

Many participants are expected from "snowbird" countries to escape the icy cold winters in the northern hemisphere and enjoy Panama’s most desirable summer season.

Tuition for workshops ranges from all-inclusive session-plus-lodging, to local daytime-only rates.

Discounts are offered for full-time students and adults over 65 years of age.

Participants can easily register and pay for courses online.

The benefit concert will feature Panamanian group "Sunset Jam", whose versatile repertoire includes jazz, rock, salsa and more. Band members Alfredo M. Bocanegra, Jorge Roldán, Ángel Sánchez and Tony Méndez put on an excellent show. Guest performers are also expected. Proceeds for the event will be used to purchase books and materials for art and language lessons to be offered to local children and adults in the community.

For more information and directions to the finca, visit: www.fincalamaya.com or call 240-8281.

Hot and cold

The coolest months in Panama are between January and February, when frosts are possible in the highest elevations. In the Panama City metro area, temperatures can drop to the upper 60s F (around 20 degrees Celsius) in early morning hours. The warmest time of the year is between April and May, when heat indexes rounding the 38 Celsius mark are not uncommon.

Canadians in Panama offered consular help

The Canadian Embassy in Panama is inviting all Canadians living in Panama to register with the Registration of Canadians Abroad (ROCA) program. ROCA provides a way for the embassy to communicate with Canadians on consular matters. In the event of a natural disaster or any form of civil unrest, using ROCA, Canadian consular officials are able to contact and provide guidance to registered Canadians.

ROCA is not connected to any other Canadian Government department or agency and is bound by the Canadian Privacy Act. Registration information is not shared with any person or entity outside of Foreign Affairs Canada’s Consular Division.

For more information on ROCA and how to register: www.panama.gc.ca (blue and white icon on the bottom left) email: panam@international.gc.ca

Panama Housing Expo exceeds target

The summer housing exhibition at Atlapa resulted in sales of around $200 million dollars according to the Panamanian Construction Association (CAPAC). "It is estimated that 35 percent of the transactions and financing were done during the fair, and 65 percent in the weeks following " said Pedro Detresno, president of the organizing committee of Expo Vivienda.

In the week long event, 15 banking and financing institutions participated along with 178 exhibitors who presented about 300 residential properties.

Over 25,000 people, visited exhibited properties in the $25,000 to $65,000 range, which qualify for preferential lending rates.

There were also apartments and properties on sale, with values in excess of one million dollars.

Conventions Bureau Appoints new president

Mrs. Aida Quijano is the new president of the Panama Bureau of Conventions and Visitors, a cluster of 65 tourist-related companies which promotes Panama as a destination for international conferences, meetings and business incentive tourism. Mrs. Quijano’s tenure will extend until 2009.

Her Board of Directors includes Jaime Campusano (Vice-president,) Luis Ricardo Martínez (Secretary,) and Angelo Paredes (Treasurer.) Other members are Edwin Oviedo, Sara PArdo, Gilberto Arosemena, Jaime Correal, Ana Royo, Augusto Terracina, Humberto Aranguren and Miguel Franco.

Mrs. Quijano is one of the most recognizable faces of Panama’s tourism industry. Founder of the long-established Margo Tours travel agency, sheactively participates in the organization of trade fairs and other tourist-related activities both in Panama and abroad.

Banks lining up to come to Panama

Six more banks have applied to come to Panama, and are going through the licensing formalities, while another eight are waiting in the wings.

The banks come from France, Switzerland, Honduras and the Cayman Islands.

All of them wanting to initiate operations in the local market are attracted by the Canal widening, and the booming Panamanian economy.

Applications pending are from France, China. Guatemala. Venezuela and Brazil.

Already there are well over 100 banks in Panama, with a population of around three million.