Panama is on its way to becoming the top destination for meetings, events and conventions in the Americas. With its strategic location, modern infrastructure and excellent air connectivity, Panama is the ideal destination and meeting point for international meetings, events and conventions. “The geographic position of Panama at the crossroad of the continent is certainly the most decisive factor. From it, many other factors have derived such as, a financial, logistics and international commercial spot, as well as recently being recognized as the unsurpassed air hub in Latin America,” stated
Diego Fernandez de Cordoba, the president of
the
Panama Conventions and Visitors Bureau.
Panama’s international airport is a main hub for commercial flights in Latin America. The airport receives key airlines of over 29 cities in Latin America and USA. In regards to the flight connections, a new direct route was launched at the beginning of the year from Panama to Medellin, with three weekly flights that serve a large influx of leisure tourists and business travelers. Also, there are weekly flights that connect Bogota with Honduras and Nicaragua and Puerto Rico, through Panama. In addition, there is an established program of collaboration by Copa airlines and meeting planners and travel agents. It’s an incentive program that keeps meeting planners abreast of new developments in the destination.
“Panama is probably the only destination in the region that you can travel to once or more than once, on a direct nonstop flight from all of the capitals and other major cities in Latin and most important gateways of the USA,” mentions Cordoba. Although Panama is internationally known for its Canal, which annually receives freight traffic worldwide, this country has a modern port, railroad and road (Interamericana Road) infrastructure, making its capital, Panama City, a convenient location for international meetings and conventions. Diego Fernandez de Cordoba comments, “Panama has an excellent logistic infrastructure and specialized services. This complements the diverse offer range of tourist attractions, and makes it an ideal destination for international events, travel incentive destination and conventions”.
On the other hand, Panama’s
ATLAPA Convention Center has been considered among the most modern and advanced convention centers in Latin America. This center is an 8-acre complex with capacity for 10,500 people. It has 24 conference rooms and an auditorium with 2,806 comfortable air charms, featuring a variety of amenities and services. It’s strategically located in the heart of Panama City, at just a few minutes from the financial district and 10 minutes away from the international airport of Tocumen.
Among the incentives that Panama is currently offering the meetings and conventions industry, is a complementary event at the convention center for a group of more than 500 rooms with a minimum stay of three nights. It also includes three airplane tickets and hotel for three speakers, a welcome reception for participants with a local show. This promotion has a saving of up to $100,000 dollars. Currently, there is an ongoing project to build a new modern and innovative convention center, with an avant-garde design, that will surpass the current capacity of the ATLAPA Convention Center. As far as costs are concerned, hosting events in Panama is more affordable than in many other countries. Also, the country is an excellent and diverse destination with a diverse range of tourist attractions.
About Panama:
Panama is an authentic unexplored destination with an exuberant natural habitat and an enchanting history; a gem hidden between two seas. Panama’s prime location, in the center of the continent, allows it to be the main air hub in Latin America. The country offers stunning landscapes and diverse ecosystems in forests, beaches, mountains and the Canal Zone, as well as an exquisite combination of rich ethnic and colonial past favorable to the prosperity and benefits of modernity. The Panama Canal, or eighth wonder of the world, is a symbol of an entrepreneur country that besides being a logistics center for excellence, it is the most important financial center of the Americas and home to major multinational corporations and free trade zone. UNESCO has declared the Old Quarter of the capital, Panama City, a World Heritage Site. Panama has natural attractions, services, hotels and a massive Convention Center to receive the adventure and leisure traveler, as well as the business visitors. www.visitpanama.com