Panama’s Time to Shine?
July 11th, 2007 Posted in Destination reports, Travel adventures, Travel bargains, Vacation dealsFor a lot of reasons, some travel destinations get all the visitors while others get ignored. Sometimes it’s a lack of money for marketing, sometimes it’s a clueless government that keeps shooting itself in the foot. Other times the place just gets overshadowed by a neighbor or an old conflict is still strong in travelers’ minds.
You can probably apply all of the above to Panama, which is now making up for lost time in getting the word out. I know a half-dozen writers who have been invited down there this year, so you’ll probably be reading more articles like this one: Panama, Land of Surprises.
The short description is that it’s Costa Rica without the crowds, though like any sound bite summation it’s not all that accurate. For one thing the tourism structure in Costa Rica is far more developed. While you’ll find over a dozen luxury hotels in Costa Rica, you can count the top-end ones on one hand in Panama. This won’t last if the crowds start coming of course. As the article says, “New hotels, lodges, and resorts—many eco-focused, some catering to luxury seekers—are popping all over the country.”
Once again, reason to go somewhere now before it gets written up in the glossy travel mags and the sheep start booking their flights. Much of what’s on offer is 1/3 to 1/2 the price of similar things in Costa Rica – including hotels and adventure tours – so get in while the getting is good.
Related posts:
One Response to “Panama’s Time to Shine?”
By Darrin on Jul 13, 2007
Thanks for the link to Roberts’ article. Yes, old images still linger in the minds or travelers. Over the past year, when I brought up the subject of Panama, more than one person asked me, “That’s that country where the Noriega guy is, right?”
What’s funny is that Noriega actually IS getting out of the Miami slammer in a few months.