Somewhere in the early 90s, Costa Rica came to be known as a must see tourism destination in South America. Its reputation as a green, peace loving country helped put the country on the radar for surfers, environmentalist and adventure-seekers. In the meantime, CostaRica's southern neighbor 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 first few elected executives attempted to pull Panama into modern times. The concept of Panama changing into a major tourism destination looked but a distant dream.
Flash forward to today. Costa Rica remains a top the tourism world in Central America, yet Panama is fighting for their position. This unlikely contingency has taken place for a variety 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 deplorable, police are scanty and underfunded, and the general public hospitals are in coarse shape.
Cost: Whether due to the lagging greenback or local inflation, Costa Rica isn't a cheap holiday location. In reality it is a little costly. As that reputation grows, white collar tourists will naturally look some place else.
Costa Rica's Own Success: Intrepid travelers need to be the 1st kid on the block to visit a new destination. Now that Costa Rica is becoming so well-known, it has almost become passage to holiday there.Traveler trends change and it is almost impossible for even the absolute best destinations to stay hip & relevant for keeps.
Compromised Values: Costa Rica is still a very eco-friendly country with wonderful laws shielding nature, wildlife and beach front. Nevertheless during the property boom of the 2000s, some projects managed to circumvent the rules and build resorts and condos that are simply not in accordance with the brand values that made Costa Rica great.
But Panama's growing popularity has not been exactly a function of Costa Rica's slight decline. Panama still deserves a little credit because of its efforts to attract forign investors, and tourists..
Mega Projects: Panama has taken on an amazing quantity of big projects during the past few years. The enlargement of the Panama Canal is the most noteworthy. This project is to be completed in 2015 at a total cost of over $6 bill $. Several major highway projects have also been completed and a tube system in Panama Town is at present under construction.
Copa Airlines: Panama benefits massively from being the home and center of Copa Airlines. Copa offers loads of daily flights to South and North America, truly making Panama the true heart of the Americas as is promoted in their selling materials.
Business Center: Partly because of Copa Airlines and also Panama's location amid the Americas, it is a major business meeting place for multinationals.
Cheap Travel Destination: Panama's dollar-based economy and low historic inflation make it an extremely low cost, high value place to work, live or visit as a tourist. Panama City does have some fairly dear locales, but outside of the capital is extremely cost-effective.
So , can Panama doubtless supplant Costa Rica as tourism leader in the region? Anything is possible , but here are the factors limiting this today.
Service: Panama has a rather serious service problem. Part of this derives from a superannuated work code that was designed to protect employees from the notoriously violent practices of fruit firms just about a century back. High employment figures.
Quality Destinations & Hotels: Costa Rica has some well established destinations such as Manuel Antonio, Tamarindo, Arenal Volcano, the Guanacaste Province. These are merely a few of the locales with a network of hostels, B&Bs, rentals, restaurants and tour operators that make a destination great. Panama is still much in its tourism diapers when referring to having a longtime tourism sector in multiple destinations. The country has put so much stress on The Canaland Panama Town for the past decades that the rest of the countryside,known regionally as "the interior" has been forced to develop basically on itsown. As such, it is still a bit disconnected, physically, financially and culturally, from the capital. Panama's top-notch are building a walled-in resort area about 2 hours from Panama Town, complete along with its own airport, yet the better known. Destinations are Bocas del Toroand Boquete. These are two remote towns, the former a Caribbeanbanana hamlet and the second a coffee growing mountain city. Bothborder Costa Rica and due to their distance from Panama Town, grew slower and organically than the resort cities closer to the capital.
Countrywide Parks: One of Costa Rica's greatest strengths is the superb system of State Parks. A fairly crude Countrywide ParksService is a massive opportunity for Panama, as the country has as much or more natural beauty, animal life, flora & fauna as Costa Rica. Sofar, Countrywide Parks have not 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 may be on a collision course with a more eco-sensitive tourism technique.
Authenticity: Panama wishes to learn some lessons from Dubai; it's difficult to produce shangri la. Today's international traveler is better informed, connected and savvy than previously. They're unafraid of foreign cultures and seek out real, unique experiences.Travelers are not crying out for another Cancun. Sadly the country's major developers have a propensity to pave over Panama's past and build jumbo, Disney-esque versions what they think foreigners need. This too often ends up looking like re-hashed versions of 1990s Miami, instead of anything uniquely Panamanian. Instead , Panama should stress the fascinating culture, history and nature that the country has to offer.
Sure its true that Panama still has a long road ahead of them if they wish to take Costa Rica's place as a top tourist destination. However Costa Rica will have to make a lot of changes also if they wish to remain a top notch travel resort.
Flash forward to today. Costa Rica remains a top the tourism world in Central America, yet Panama is fighting for their position. This unlikely contingency has taken place for a variety 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 deplorable, police are scanty and underfunded, and the general public hospitals are in coarse shape.
Cost: Whether due to the lagging greenback or local inflation, Costa Rica isn't a cheap holiday location. In reality it is a little costly. As that reputation grows, white collar tourists will naturally look some place else.
Costa Rica's Own Success: Intrepid travelers need to be the 1st kid on the block to visit a new destination. Now that Costa Rica is becoming so well-known, it has almost become passage to holiday there.Traveler trends change and it is almost impossible for even the absolute best destinations to stay hip & relevant for keeps.
Compromised Values: Costa Rica is still a very eco-friendly country with wonderful laws shielding nature, wildlife and beach front. Nevertheless during the property boom of the 2000s, some projects managed to circumvent the rules and build resorts and condos that are simply not in accordance with the brand values that made Costa Rica great.
But Panama's growing popularity has not been exactly a function of Costa Rica's slight decline. Panama still deserves a little credit because of its efforts to attract forign investors, and tourists..
Mega Projects: Panama has taken on an amazing quantity of big projects during the past few years. The enlargement of the Panama Canal is the most noteworthy. This project is to be completed in 2015 at a total cost of over $6 bill $. Several major highway projects have also been completed and a tube system in Panama Town is at present under construction.
Copa Airlines: Panama benefits massively from being the home and center of Copa Airlines. Copa offers loads of daily flights to South and North America, truly making Panama the true heart of the Americas as is promoted in their selling materials.
Business Center: Partly because of Copa Airlines and also Panama's location amid the Americas, it is a major business meeting place for multinationals.
Cheap Travel Destination: Panama's dollar-based economy and low historic inflation make it an extremely low cost, high value place to work, live or visit as a tourist. Panama City does have some fairly dear locales, but outside of the capital is extremely cost-effective.
So , can Panama doubtless supplant Costa Rica as tourism leader in the region? Anything is possible , but here are the factors limiting this today.
Service: Panama has a rather serious service problem. Part of this derives from a superannuated work code that was designed to protect employees from the notoriously violent practices of fruit firms just about a century back. High employment figures.
Quality Destinations & Hotels: Costa Rica has some well established destinations such as Manuel Antonio, Tamarindo, Arenal Volcano, the Guanacaste Province. These are merely a few of the locales with a network of hostels, B&Bs, rentals, restaurants and tour operators that make a destination great. Panama is still much in its tourism diapers when referring to having a longtime tourism sector in multiple destinations. The country has put so much stress on The Canaland Panama Town for the past decades that the rest of the countryside,known regionally as "the interior" has been forced to develop basically on itsown. As such, it is still a bit disconnected, physically, financially and culturally, from the capital. Panama's top-notch are building a walled-in resort area about 2 hours from Panama Town, complete along with its own airport, yet the better known. Destinations are Bocas del Toroand Boquete. These are two remote towns, the former a Caribbeanbanana hamlet and the second a coffee growing mountain city. Bothborder Costa Rica and due to their distance from Panama Town, grew slower and organically than the resort cities closer to the capital.
Countrywide Parks: One of Costa Rica's greatest strengths is the superb system of State Parks. A fairly crude Countrywide ParksService is a massive opportunity for Panama, as the country has as much or more natural beauty, animal life, flora & fauna as Costa Rica. Sofar, Countrywide Parks have not 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 may be on a collision course with a more eco-sensitive tourism technique.
Authenticity: Panama wishes to learn some lessons from Dubai; it's difficult to produce shangri la. Today's international traveler is better informed, connected and savvy than previously. They're unafraid of foreign cultures and seek out real, unique experiences.Travelers are not crying out for another Cancun. Sadly the country's major developers have a propensity to pave over Panama's past and build jumbo, Disney-esque versions what they think foreigners need. This too often ends up looking like re-hashed versions of 1990s Miami, instead of anything uniquely Panamanian. Instead , Panama should stress the fascinating culture, history and nature that the country has to offer.
Sure its true that Panama still has a long road ahead of them if they wish to take Costa Rica's place as a top tourist destination. However Costa Rica will have to make a lot of changes also if they wish to remain a top notch travel resort.
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