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In recent days, the ATP (Tourism Authority of Panama) met with Cathay Pacific airline and Hong Kong authorities
The ties between Panama and Asia continue to strengthen, 'we are getting closer to attracting a new route, we have had several meetings with airlines from Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore', said Ernesto Orillac, General Consultant of the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP).
"What we are trying to accomplish by next year or sooner, is that we can have direct flights from Asia”, said the consultant.
Orillac highlighted that there are several other countries from that continent that have contacted us in order to achieve connectivity with our country, ‘they see Panama as a Hub for the Latin American region’. Some meetings have taken place with Cathay Pacific airline and Hong Kong Investment, among others.
Fuente: http://www.laestrella.com.pa/
Autor: Michelle Domínguez
With plenty of joy was celebrated the 492 years anniversary of Panama La Vieja. Once again is commemorated this important date.
Schools, foundations and independent bands participated in the civic parade that started at Estatua Morelos (Morelos Statue) and ended at Puente del Rey (King’s Bridge).
People of all ages, citizens and foreigners enjoyed the different tunes brought by the musical bands that were present.
A request to the authorities was submitted in favor of keeping this celebration alive.
The city was founded on August 15th of 1519 by Pedro Arias Davila (Pedrarias), this being the first Spanish settlement in the Pacific Ocean coasts.
The foundation of Panama took over the previous cities of Maria la Antigua del Darién and Acla, turning into the capital of Castilla de Oro. On September 15 of 1521, was received by means of the Royal Decree, the title of City and a Coat of Arms granted by Carlos I of Spain.
Subsequently, in 1671, the city was attacked by the English pirate Henry Morgan, with plundering intentions, and for the safety of the population and their possessions, the Captain General of Tierra Firme, Juan Perez de Guzman, orders the evacuation and the blowing of the powder deposits which created a very large fire that destroyed it entirely, with the ruins standing until nowadays, including the cathedral tower.
The whole monumental complex of Panama Viejo is recognized as part of the World Heritage.
The city of Panama was rebuilt in 1673, located at 2 km west-southeast of the original city, at the skirts of Cerro Ancon, known today as the Casco Viejo of the city.
The digital media have become allies for promoting touristic destinations to the world, each time is more frequent to have access to information found in the internet, with this having a ample amount of daily visits (hits), quite often very similar to the print runs of the main printed media.
Cyber-technology (the internet) is currently a fundamental resource to obtaining updated information and its importance has been considered as a promotion tool by the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP), to pop open the digital window in order to present our country to the world.
It’s been 11 months since the ATP implemented an ambitious communication program through the web, which has allowed our country to place itself advantageously in the mind of all travelers. The visits to our websites and profiles reflect a high demand; visitpanama.com has been visited from 186 different countries and has an average of 73,430 monthly visits, with an outstanding increase of 194%.
One of the options with the highest rankings in this market are the social networks, with the most popular being: Facebook and Twitter, where we have our profile and pages available for the internet user: “Enjoy Panama” in English, “Disfruta Panama” in Spanish and “Curta Panama” in Portuguese (which was launched two weeks ago), with this being the gathering place for internet users from around the world, who show a profound interest in Panama.
By the end of July of 2011, our Facebook page reflected 55,582 “friends”, while in Twitter, the count was at 2,027 followers with a very active participation in both forums; which demonstrates a lot of interest on what is displayed in them and therefore in our country. Through these digital forums, the ATP has the capability to offer promotions, interact with those that have visited our country, promote and capture the attention of future visitors and also, collect the comments regarding their experiences while visiting.
These strategies allow us to understand the needs, improve and expand the promotion of Panama and by this, keep the growth within the thriving tourism industry that currently shows a meaningful contribution to the economy in our country.
The Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) has announced the launch of its social media platform on Facebook, under the name CurtaPanama. Brazilian travelers are invited to participate actively and to continue interacting in order to learn about innovations and the latest tourism offers from Panama.
"Our main goal is to promote the extraordinary destinations that Panama offers, and to further reinforce our strong presence within social media through specific actions for the Brazilian market. This, in turn, will help us to increase our audience, and communicate the great tourism diversity found in our country,” said Salomón Shamah, Minister of tourism.
After the success of the social platforms, EnjoyPanama and DisfrutaPanama - which now have more than 57,000 fans on Facebook and Twitter- the idea emerged about launching a Facebook page for the Brazilian market. This would allow for communication directly with this particular audience, and create and maintain loyal followers.
Thanks to this initiative, Panama is utilizing the latest in social media as a tool for promoting tourist attractions, events, and new hotels in the country. This initiative will offer visitors an important source of information through digital platforms.
Fuente: Hostnews.com.
The hull of the 17th century ship, ‘Satisfaction’, found near Panama
The remains of a sunken 17th century ship belonging to the pirate Captain Henry Morgan have been uncovered in Panama, said a team of archaeologists from the United States and rum manufacturer Captain Morgan.
Morgan lost five ships near the reef of Lajas in 1671, including his flagship "Satisfaction". The team discovered a portion of the starboard side of the hull of a wooden boat and a series unopened cargo boxes encrusted with coral.
The cargo boxes have not yet been opened, but Captain Morgan USA, who sells spicy rum named after the pirate of the same name, is clearly hoping to find some liquor inside.
"There is definitely an irony in the situation," said Fritz Hanselmann an archaeologist for River Systems Institute, the Center for Archaeological Studies at Texas State University and the head of a team of divers from KVUE Austin. The Captain Morgan Rum factory intervened in the search for Captain Morgan after the team, which had discovered a collection of iron cannons nearby, claimed that a lack of funding threatened to end the search.
The new funding has enabled the team to use a magnetometer, which finds metal by detecting deviations in the Earth's magnetic field.
"When the opportunity came to make a possible discovery on this mission, it was logical that we participated. The artifacts discovered during this mission will help describe the life and adventures of Henry Morgan in a way that I never thought possible," said Tom Herbst, Director of Captain Morgan USA.
Captain Morgan has been using the image of the famous pirate on their logo for many years. Furthermore, films such as Disney's, "The Pirates of the Caribbean", have portrayed many pirates as bloodthirsty, captivated by booty and power, as well as, of course, drink from time to time.
But researchers say that the real Morgan doesn’t fit with such an unsavory description.
Morgan was hired by the British Government to protect its colonies in America. He crossed the sea, taking anything that might harm British interests. As the commander of a huge fleet, Morgan had 36 ships, about 1,900 men and 240 cannons.
He was travelling from the entrance to the fortress of San Lorenzo Castle, a Spanish Fort on the cliffs overlooking the mouth of the Chagres River, the passage between the Caribbean and the capital city. While attempting to take the city, and break Spain’s monopoly in the Caribbean, he ran into the Rocky reef waters that surround the fortress and sank along with four other ships. But his career did not end there. He became the Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica and died of natural causes in 1688.
The underwater research team included archaeologists and divers from Texas State University, volunteers from the National Park Service's Submerged Resources Center and NOAA/UNC-Wilmington's Aquarius Reef Base. Rather than the pirate booty, they claim the true story of Captain Henry Morgan is the real treasure.
"For us, the ship is the treasure - the story is the treasure", said MSNBC’s Alan Boyle. "You don’t find a better story than the sack of Panama City by Captain Henry Morgan and the loss of five of their boats."
Artifacts excavated by the diving team in 2010 included six cannons. Any future relics will remain the property of the Government of Panama and will be preserved and presented by the Patronage of Old Panama.
