Somewhere in the early 90s, Costa Rica came to be known as a must see tourism destination in Latin America. Its reputation as an ecologically friendly, peace loving country helped put the country on the radar for surfers, environmentalist and adventure-seekers. In the meantime, CostaRica's southern neighbour Panama was still affected by a post-Noriega hangover. The transition of the Panama Canal from U.S. Control was not all smooth sailing, and the initial few elected executives struggled to pull Panama into modern times. The concept of Panama changing into a major tourism destination looked but a distant dream.
Leap forward to the present. Costa Rica hands down remains one of the top tourism destinations in Central America, yet Panama is hot on its heels. This unlikely scenario has taken place for a range of reasons. First, where Costa Rica has slipped:
Infrastructure: Costa Rica failed to make significant investments into its tourism structure during so many years of success. Roads are still abysmal, police are scant and underfunded, and the public infirmaries are in rough shape.
Cost: Whether due to the lagging dollar or local inflation, Costa Rica is now not an inexpensive vacation destination. In fact , it is a little costly. As that reputation grows, white-collar tourists will naturally look somewhere else.
Costa Rica's Own Success: Intrepid travelers desire to be the 1st kid on the block to go to visit a new destination. Now that Costa Rica is becoming so well known, it has about become passage to holiday there.Traveler trends change and it's almost impossible for even the best destinations to remain hip & important for good.
Compromised Values: Costa Rica is still a particularly ecologically friendly country with superb laws defending nature, animal life and beach front. Nevertheless during the property boom of the 2000s, some projects were able to circumvent the regulations and build resorts and condos that are simply not in line with the brand values that made Costa Rica great.
But Panama's increasing popularity has not been exactly a function of Costa Rica's slight decline. Like it or not you still have to give Panama a big pat on the back, do to its efforts it has made to attract tourists, and foreign investors..
Mega Projects: Panama has taken on an extraordinary quantity of big projects during the past one or two years. The enlargement of the Panama Canal is the most noteworthy. This project is to be finished in 2015 at a total cost of over $6 bill USD. A few major road projects have also been completed and a subway system in Panama Town is currently under assembly.
Copa Airlines: Panama benefits enormously from being the home and hub of Copa Airlines. Copa offers loads of daily flights to North and South America, actually making Panama the true hub of the Americas as is promoted in their marketing materials.
Business Hub: In part because of Copa Airlines and also Panama's location amid the Americas, it is a major business meeting place for multinationals.
Affordable Vacation Resort: Do to Panama's dollar-based economy and extremely low inflation it makes it the ideal place to live and work.. Panama City does have some fairly costly locales, but outside of the capital is extremely reasonable.
Therefore can Panama potentially supplant Costa Rica as tourism leader in the area? Anything is possible , but here are the factors limiting this today.
Service: Panama has a rather serious service problem. Part of this results from an antiquated work code that was engineered to protect employees from the infamously abusive practices of fruit corporations almost a century gone. High work figures.
Quality Destinations & Hotels: Costa Rica has some well established destinations such as Manuel Antonio, Tamarindo, Arenal Volcano, the Guanacaste Province. These are simply a few of the locales with a network of hotels, B&Bs, rentals, cafes and tour operators that make a destination great. Panama is still much in its tourism nappies when referring to having an established tourism sector in multiple destinations. The country has put so much stress on The Canaland Panama Town for the previous decades that the remainder of the countryside,known domestically as "the interior" has needed to develop fundamentally on itsown. As such, it remains a bit disconnected, physically, financially and culturally, from the capital. Panama's top-flight are building a walled-in resort area about 2 hours from Panama City, complete along with its own aeroport, yet the more well known. Destinations are Bocas del Toroand Boquete. These are 2 remote cities, the former a Caribbeanbanana village and the latter a coffee growing mountain town. Bothborder Costa Rica and due to their distance from Panama City, grew more slowly and organically than the resort towns closer to the capital.
National Parks: One of Costa Rica's best strengths is the fantastic system of National Parks. A reasonably crude National ParksService is a huge opportunity for Panama, as the country has as much or more natural beauty, animal life, flora & fauna as Costa Rica. Sofar, National Parks haven't been a point of focus, pride or promotion by the Panama Tourism Authority, yet the potential is just enormous. Plenty in the tourism sector are concerned that Panama's pro-development approach could be on a collision course with a more eco-sensitive tourism plan.
Genuineness: Panama desires to learn some lessons from Dubai; it's hard to produce paradise. Today's world traveler is more informed, connected and savvy than previously. They are unafraid of foreign cultures and hunt down genuine, unique experiences.Travelers aren't demanding another Cancun. Sadly the states major developers have an inclination to pave over Panama's past and build jumbo, Disney-esque versions what they suspect foreigners want. This too often ends up looking like re-hashed versions of 1990s Miami, instead of anything uniquely Panamanian. Instead , Panama should stress the engaging culture, history and nature the country has to give.
Panama still has a long way to go in order to pass Costa Rica. At this point it appears the game is set for Costa Rica to lose, but in order to sustain its powerful brand position the country must reinvent its self, as well as its security and enforce environmental laws.
Leap forward to the present. Costa Rica hands down remains one of the top tourism destinations in Central America, yet Panama is hot on its heels. This unlikely scenario has taken place for a range of reasons. First, where Costa Rica has slipped:
Infrastructure: Costa Rica failed to make significant investments into its tourism structure during so many years of success. Roads are still abysmal, police are scant and underfunded, and the public infirmaries are in rough shape.
Cost: Whether due to the lagging dollar or local inflation, Costa Rica is now not an inexpensive vacation destination. In fact , it is a little costly. As that reputation grows, white-collar tourists will naturally look somewhere else.
Costa Rica's Own Success: Intrepid travelers desire to be the 1st kid on the block to go to visit a new destination. Now that Costa Rica is becoming so well known, it has about become passage to holiday there.Traveler trends change and it's almost impossible for even the best destinations to remain hip & important for good.
Compromised Values: Costa Rica is still a particularly ecologically friendly country with superb laws defending nature, animal life and beach front. Nevertheless during the property boom of the 2000s, some projects were able to circumvent the regulations and build resorts and condos that are simply not in line with the brand values that made Costa Rica great.
But Panama's increasing popularity has not been exactly a function of Costa Rica's slight decline. Like it or not you still have to give Panama a big pat on the back, do to its efforts it has made to attract tourists, and foreign investors..
Mega Projects: Panama has taken on an extraordinary quantity of big projects during the past one or two years. The enlargement of the Panama Canal is the most noteworthy. This project is to be finished in 2015 at a total cost of over $6 bill USD. A few major road projects have also been completed and a subway system in Panama Town is currently under assembly.
Copa Airlines: Panama benefits enormously from being the home and hub of Copa Airlines. Copa offers loads of daily flights to North and South America, actually making Panama the true hub of the Americas as is promoted in their marketing materials.
Business Hub: In part because of Copa Airlines and also Panama's location amid the Americas, it is a major business meeting place for multinationals.
Affordable Vacation Resort: Do to Panama's dollar-based economy and extremely low inflation it makes it the ideal place to live and work.. Panama City does have some fairly costly locales, but outside of the capital is extremely reasonable.
Therefore can Panama potentially supplant Costa Rica as tourism leader in the area? Anything is possible , but here are the factors limiting this today.
Service: Panama has a rather serious service problem. Part of this results from an antiquated work code that was engineered to protect employees from the infamously abusive practices of fruit corporations almost a century gone. High work figures.
Quality Destinations & Hotels: Costa Rica has some well established destinations such as Manuel Antonio, Tamarindo, Arenal Volcano, the Guanacaste Province. These are simply a few of the locales with a network of hotels, B&Bs, rentals, cafes and tour operators that make a destination great. Panama is still much in its tourism nappies when referring to having an established tourism sector in multiple destinations. The country has put so much stress on The Canaland Panama Town for the previous decades that the remainder of the countryside,known domestically as "the interior" has needed to develop fundamentally on itsown. As such, it remains a bit disconnected, physically, financially and culturally, from the capital. Panama's top-flight are building a walled-in resort area about 2 hours from Panama City, complete along with its own aeroport, yet the more well known. Destinations are Bocas del Toroand Boquete. These are 2 remote cities, the former a Caribbeanbanana village and the latter a coffee growing mountain town. Bothborder Costa Rica and due to their distance from Panama City, grew more slowly and organically than the resort towns closer to the capital.
National Parks: One of Costa Rica's best strengths is the fantastic system of National Parks. A reasonably crude National ParksService is a huge opportunity for Panama, as the country has as much or more natural beauty, animal life, flora & fauna as Costa Rica. Sofar, National Parks haven't been a point of focus, pride or promotion by the Panama Tourism Authority, yet the potential is just enormous. Plenty in the tourism sector are concerned that Panama's pro-development approach could be on a collision course with a more eco-sensitive tourism plan.
Genuineness: Panama desires to learn some lessons from Dubai; it's hard to produce paradise. Today's world traveler is more informed, connected and savvy than previously. They are unafraid of foreign cultures and hunt down genuine, unique experiences.Travelers aren't demanding another Cancun. Sadly the states major developers have an inclination to pave over Panama's past and build jumbo, Disney-esque versions what they suspect foreigners want. This too often ends up looking like re-hashed versions of 1990s Miami, instead of anything uniquely Panamanian. Instead , Panama should stress the engaging culture, history and nature the country has to give.
Panama still has a long way to go in order to pass Costa Rica. At this point it appears the game is set for Costa Rica to lose, but in order to sustain its powerful brand position the country must reinvent its self, as well as its security and enforce environmental laws.
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