Promoting tourism

PANAMA. Albrook Mall now has the first interactive tourism stand placed by the Panama Tourism Authority. This new technology will offer local and foreign tourists a fast and effective way to learn about Panama and obtain any local information needed.

“The stands will be placed at the Tocumen, Albrook, Bocas del Toro and Chiriqui airports and will offer a great deal on information”, said Kathy de Guardia, marketing director of ATP.

A dozen user-friendly servers with touch screens will be placed in each province in this first phase.

They are part of new marketing strategies for local tourism but will be useful as well for foreign visitors.

According to Guardia, the initial investment amounted to around $90,000.

At the stand, the user will have access to details about addresses, phone numbers of hotels, embassies, destinations, restaurants, banks, transportation, malls and emergency information.

The stands have been designed based on an easy data retrieval system with collaboration from the private sector.

Jaime Canpuzano, President of the Panamanian Chamber of Tourism, expects the tourism sector to experience a 10 percent decline this year due to the global financial crisis.

Promoting local tourism through informational stands is one of the measures taken to to try to tackle this reality.