Somewhere in the early 90s, Costa Rica became known as a have to see tourism destination in South America. Its reputation as an eco-friendly, peace loving country helped put the country on the radar for surfers, environmentalist and adventure-seekers. Meanwhile, CostaRica's southern neighbor Panama was still going through a post-Noriega hangover. The transition of the Panama Canal from U.S. Control wasn't all smooth sailing, and the first few elected executives struggled to pull Panama into modern times. The idea 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, but do not count Panama out becasue they are coming up fast. This unlikely eventuality has happened for a variety of reasons. First, where Costa Rica has slipped:
Structure: Costa Rica didn't make substantial investments into its tourism framework during so many years of success. Roads are still deplorable, police are scanty and underfunded, and the public hospices are in coarse shape.
Cost: Whether due to the lagging dollar or local inflation, Costa Rica is now not a cheap holiday location. In fact , it is a little costly. As that reputation grows, white collar visitors 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 vacation there.Traveler trends change and it is almost impossible for even the very best destinations to remain hip & relevant forever.
Compromised Values: Costa Rica is still a particularly ecologically friendly country with wonderful laws protecting nature, animal life and beach front. However , during the real estate boom of the 2000s, some projects managed to by-pass 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 booming 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 couple of years. The enlargement of the Panama Canal is the most noteworthy. This project is to be completed in 2015 at an overall cost of over $6 bill Bucks. 1 or 2 major road projects have also been completed and a train system in Panama City is at present being built.
Copa Airlines: Panama benefits massively from being the home and center of Copa Airlines. Copa offers lots of daily flights to North and South America, truly making Panama the true center of the Americas as is promoted in their promoting materials.
Business Center: In part because of Copa Airlines and also Panama's location among the Americas, it's a major business meeting place for multinationals.
Affordable Vacation Resort: Thanks to Panama's affordable economy and the low cost of everything, it makes it a great place to live or to visit.. Panama City does have some fairly costly venues, but outside the capital is extremely reasonable.
Hence 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 serious service problem. Part of this results from an antiquated labor code that was built to protect employees from the famously abusive practices of fruit firms almost a century back. High work figures.
Quality Destinations & Hostels: Costa Rica has some well established destinations like 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 which make a destination great. Panama is still very much in its tourism diapers when talking about having a longtime tourism sector in multiple destinations. The country has put so much stress on The Canaland Panama City for the previous decades that the remainder of the countryside,known locally as "the interior" has been forced to develop essentially on itsown. As such, it is still 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 with its own aeroport, yet the better known. Destinations are Bocas del Toroand Boquete. These are two remote towns, the previous a Caribbeanbanana hamlet and the second a coffee growing mountain town. Bothborder Costa Rica and due to their distance from Panama City, grew slower and organically than the resort cities closer to the capital.
Countrywide Parks: One of Costa Rica's best strengths is the superb system of National Parks. A reasonably crude National ParksService is a huge opportunity for Panama, as the country has as much or even more natural beauty, wildlife, 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. Many in the tourism sector are worried that Panama's pro-development approach could be on a crash course with a rather more eco-sensitive tourism strategy.
Genuineness: Panama desires to learn some lessons from Dubai; it's hard to turn out nirvana. Today's international traveler is better educated, connected and savvy than ever. They are unafraid of foreign cultures and hunt down genuine, unique experiences.Travelers are not clamoring for another Cancun. Sadly the country's major developers have a tendency to pave over Panama's past and build jumbo, Disney-esque versions what they suspect foreigners need. This too often ends up looking like re-hashed versions of 1990s Miami, instead of anything uniquely Panamanian. As an alternative Panama should stress the entrancing culture, history and nature 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.
Leap forward to the present. Costa Rica hands down remains one of the top tourism destinations in Central America, but do not count Panama out becasue they are coming up fast. This unlikely eventuality has happened for a variety of reasons. First, where Costa Rica has slipped:
Structure: Costa Rica didn't make substantial investments into its tourism framework during so many years of success. Roads are still deplorable, police are scanty and underfunded, and the public hospices are in coarse shape.
Cost: Whether due to the lagging dollar or local inflation, Costa Rica is now not a cheap holiday location. In fact , it is a little costly. As that reputation grows, white collar visitors 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 vacation there.Traveler trends change and it is almost impossible for even the very best destinations to remain hip & relevant forever.
Compromised Values: Costa Rica is still a particularly ecologically friendly country with wonderful laws protecting nature, animal life and beach front. However , during the real estate boom of the 2000s, some projects managed to by-pass 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 booming 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 couple of years. The enlargement of the Panama Canal is the most noteworthy. This project is to be completed in 2015 at an overall cost of over $6 bill Bucks. 1 or 2 major road projects have also been completed and a train system in Panama City is at present being built.
Copa Airlines: Panama benefits massively from being the home and center of Copa Airlines. Copa offers lots of daily flights to North and South America, truly making Panama the true center of the Americas as is promoted in their promoting materials.
Business Center: In part because of Copa Airlines and also Panama's location among the Americas, it's a major business meeting place for multinationals.
Affordable Vacation Resort: Thanks to Panama's affordable economy and the low cost of everything, it makes it a great place to live or to visit.. Panama City does have some fairly costly venues, but outside the capital is extremely reasonable.
Hence 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 serious service problem. Part of this results from an antiquated labor code that was built to protect employees from the famously abusive practices of fruit firms almost a century back. High work figures.
Quality Destinations & Hostels: Costa Rica has some well established destinations like 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 which make a destination great. Panama is still very much in its tourism diapers when talking about having a longtime tourism sector in multiple destinations. The country has put so much stress on The Canaland Panama City for the previous decades that the remainder of the countryside,known locally as "the interior" has been forced to develop essentially on itsown. As such, it is still 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 with its own aeroport, yet the better known. Destinations are Bocas del Toroand Boquete. These are two remote towns, the previous a Caribbeanbanana hamlet and the second a coffee growing mountain town. Bothborder Costa Rica and due to their distance from Panama City, grew slower and organically than the resort cities closer to the capital.
Countrywide Parks: One of Costa Rica's best strengths is the superb system of National Parks. A reasonably crude National ParksService is a huge opportunity for Panama, as the country has as much or even more natural beauty, wildlife, 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. Many in the tourism sector are worried that Panama's pro-development approach could be on a crash course with a rather more eco-sensitive tourism strategy.
Genuineness: Panama desires to learn some lessons from Dubai; it's hard to turn out nirvana. Today's international traveler is better educated, connected and savvy than ever. They are unafraid of foreign cultures and hunt down genuine, unique experiences.Travelers are not clamoring for another Cancun. Sadly the country's major developers have a tendency to pave over Panama's past and build jumbo, Disney-esque versions what they suspect foreigners need. This too often ends up looking like re-hashed versions of 1990s Miami, instead of anything uniquely Panamanian. As an alternative Panama should stress the entrancing culture, history and nature 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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