In recent years, Panama has become a tourism benchmark at an international level, due to the number of visitors that visit the Republic to enjoy the vacation plans it offers, placing the country among the most well-known markets in Latin America and the Caribbean.

From January to October 2012, over 1,675,000 tourists entered the country, which signifies a 4.3% increase compared to the same period in the previous year, according to figures from the Department of Statistics of the Panama Tourism Authority (ATP).

These positive results stimulated foreign exchange to reach $1,856 million dollars, an increase of 18.7% in comparison with the same period in 2011.

Tocumen International Airport remains the main point of entry for travelers, with a total of 265,999 tourists and an increase of 18.9%, which represents 153,274 more visitors than those who arrive at seaports, which only received 112,725 tourists.

Of the main terminals in the country, those that obtained the highest number of tourist arrivals were Tocumen International Airport, the seaports and Paso Canoas.

Sara Pardo, president of the Panamanian Association of Hotels (APATEL), said that the first ten months of 2012 have been beneficial in comparison with last year, thanks to the increased visits by travelers.

According to Pardo, the sector is actively working to obtain congresses, conventions and visiting groups.

“The efforts that APATEL make in conjunction with the ATP are what is leading the sector to success. Over the first ten months of the year, the hotel occupation was at 63% of overall availability, recording a rise of 3.8% from the previous year,” added Pardo.