In this context, Travel2latam spoke with Demetrio Maduro, president of Promtur Panama.
What are your goals for participating in FITUR this year?
The goal is definitely to continue working hard to promote Panama. To make sure that Panama is known and has a name in all the countries of the world.
Tell me a little bit about your participation here. Who is with you?
The stand is very large. The Minister of Tourism, Gloria de León, is there, as well as three other people from Promtur. In addition, there are people from the private sector who are with us; last year there were 23, this year there are 46.
There are people present from all over the country, right?
Exactly. The new government of Panama is totally focused on promoting tourism as a second source of income for our country. Everyone is working to make this happen. Promtur has historically maintained an intense international promotion throughout the year at the main fairs.
What are your ideas for this year under your administration?
We are focused on promoting Panama, but looking for new and additional connectivity to the country. We have already signed with Cóndor, and are in negotiations with Lufthansa and British Airways. There is also another Latin American airline, which I cannot mention anything about.
In addition, a negotiation that had been going on for two years was made at this time with a kosher festival in Panama. This festival has become a complete promotion for Panama, since it currently has more than 30 100% kosher restaurants. We want Panama to be a great destination for the Jewish community in the United States and Latin America. The Kosher Fest just ended this year and it was a great success.
What are the general objectives that have been set for 2025?
We definitely want to increase the number of tourists who come to Panama directly with Copa Airlines, the national airline, with a stopover in Panama, with the possibility of staying up to seven days. We want to continue bringing in that other tourist who passes through our airport, but who has never stayed or is not staying in our city. That is another of the main objectives, and we are working together to achieve this, and if at this moment we have two million visitors, we want to reach at least three million in 2025. To do this, we are also going to continue working very hard with the Vive por Más campaign.
Do you have any other message to offer to the community of tourism professionals who are part of our audience?
Yes, I think that another important part that we have in Panama is the MICE segment. The Convention Center is offering 2,000 rooms per night in Panama. In addition, there are a large number of hotel options of different categories that will give full support to this convention center, and this is another of the main focuses. We want Panama to become a very strong MICE center again, for us it is crucial that this convention center is effective and that the hotels have the occupancy that they so deserve.
Do you have information about new properties or renovations in the city?
We just opened the Renaissance Panama City Hotel, which was the old Continental Hotel, an iconic property in the city, a 60-year-old building, but it has been completely remodeled. It is a Marriott brand, which is managed by me. We also have the Hyatt Hotel, which is about to open in March or April.
There are hotel investors, especially for the much-needed downtown part of the city, on the beaches. Likewise, the next Latin American airline could bring many opportunities to Panama.