TOURISTS and transitting passengers increased spending by 5.6 %  to $3.7 billion in the first  nine months of the year.

The figures are contained in a report  by Panama’s Comptroller General .

The document - "Leading monthly economic indicators" – said that the 5.6% increase is compared  to the amount spent during the same period last year.

In the first nine months of 2016, Panama received 714,000 visitors, about the same as last year.

In addition to this figure, 3.8 million passengers transited at Tocumen International Airport, numbers that include airline crew members.

This figure represents an increase of 10.4 percent compared to 2015.