Panama’s cabinet has authorized the extra half a million dollars for Carnival syas Salomón Shamah, General Manager of Tourism Authority (ATP), 

Shamah said Tuesday, February 22 that an additional $500,000 was added to the original budget of $1.5 million, which was says just not enough.

Shamah said that the request to the Cabinet was simply "legal protocol" as the additional money comes being taken from the $48.4 million ATP budget for 2011.