Tourism industry needs cheaper deals

PANAMA. The storm of the global financial crisis has started clouding the tourism sector in Panama.

Given this grim outlook, the Tourism Minister, Ruben Blades, said in the recent conference of the Central American Tourism Council that the Panamanian tourism industry needs to have more competitive prices, believing it will have to adjust to today’s reality and reflect what the customer wants.

Tourism operators agreed, explaining that the prices that Panama offers are higher than in other countries competing for the same markets.

The President of the Panamanian Association of Tourism Operators, Ana Royo, said that reservations have started to decrease, as she pinpointed that the hotel and transportation packets in competing countries are “more attractive than ours.”