The Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) shipping company confirmed that Panama will continue to be one of the favorite Home Ports among its guests, especially due to the experience of transit through the Panama Canal.
The NCL shipping company spokesman stressed that operations with departures from Panama City remain for sale until December 2024.
In 2021, the general administrator of the Panama Tourism Authority (ATP), Iván Eskildsen, and the legal representative of the company NCL Bahamas LTD, Howard Sherman (Executive Vice President Onboard Revenue and Destination Services) signed a cooperation agreement with the purpose of establishing NCL operations as a base port in Colón and Amador as of March 2022.
This weekend, more than 4,000 tourists will disembark in Panama with the arrival of the Norwegian Jewel cruise ships at the Port of Amador and the Celebrity Constellation at the Colón 2,000 Cruise Port.
This flow of cruise tourists has been constant during this season, which represents an important economic injection for the country.
It is estimated that these tourists leave income in the country for B/.2.2 million, taking into account that cruise passengers from the base port sleep an average night in Panama, which benefits hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, carriers, merchants and tour operators, among others.
Figures from the Comptroller General of the Republic indicate that each base port cruise passenger spends an estimated B/.315.00, while those in transit spend B/.150.00 on their visit to Panama.
In November and December, Panama achieved more cruise passengers than in 2019 (pre-pandemic), according to official figures and in terms of the total number of international tourists in the country, as of November 2022, the number of pre-pandemic monthly international visitors was recovered, reaching a total figure of 1.9 million international visitors in all of 2022.