The German airline Condor will operate flights on the Germany-Panama route starting this year, as announced by the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, in his report to the Nation during the installation ceremony of the second legislature of the first period of ordinary sessions of the National Assemblyl.
Mulino said that this is one of the agreements reached with charter companies and large wholesalers, which the current administration has been finalizing.
The negotiation between the airline Condor and Panama is being managed by the National Tourism Promotion Fund (Promtur) to define the agreements to enhance the route.
The Condor incursion would reestablish the connectivity route with Germany, which at that time was deactivated with the departures of Lufthansa and Eurowing.
It was reported, at the time, that different routes were affected due to the effects of the pandemic. Another cause is the situation related to the acquisition of aircraft equipment by suppliers for Boeing and Airbus.
It has been announced that these Condor operations in Panama will begin in June, offering three types of economic, premium and business rates.
According to Ovidio Díaz, president of Camtur, this is good news for the sector. “It’s positive. “We have to undertake marketing and positioning work and announce that we have a tourist destination in Panama.”
“We have to understand that we have to sell a destination, which is Panama, not a specific area,” he said.
He indicated that there is good connectivity with Europe, “we have airlines that travel to Europe every day, we must continue selling our destination, and try to ensure that these planes that bring 300 or more passengers have Panama as their final destination.”
Insurance for tourists
President Mulino also anticipated in his speech that this month the tender will be held to offer insurance to tourists, which he had already indicated will be free.
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In this regard, the Panama Tourism Authority (ATP) He indicated that the specifications are now ready and in the coming weeks the approval meeting will be held to subsequently proceed with the bidding.
The president of Camtur indicated that what businessmen in the sector expect is that the Government announces the tender with adequate time so that those who want to compete can do so in a transparent manner.
“We hope this management is positive and regarding its impact we hope that at the end of the year we will have the statistics to know the results of this public investment,” said Díaz.
Previously, representatives of the sector have indicated that this resource would represent a security seal that would support the management of the promoters, the Tourism Promotion Fund and the ATP.
Other actions
Mulino also referred to the ATP-BID efforts to develop strategic projects such as the revitalization of the city of Colón, the rehabilitation of churches in the Old Town and the modernization of convention centers.
As well as the relaunch of the Panama STOPOVER program, with Copa Airlines, which he said, exceeded the annual goal with almost 160 thousand passengers, a growth of 23% compared to the previous year. In addition, he mentioned the progress in the modernization of the Alonso Valderrama airport in Chitré, Raúl Arias in Contadora Island and Marcos Gelaberte in Panama.
