Panama received 284,000 visitors, in January an increase of 104% in comparison with the same month of 2022 and 7% higher than that reported in January 2019, pre-pandemic.

The  Tourism  Authority (ATP) report indicates that hotel occupancy in January reached 56% while spending by visitors grew 43% compared to the $499 million reported in the same month of 2019.

Together with the construction sector, tourism was one of the most affected by the mobility restrictions applied by the Government to combat the coronavirus.

In 2020 alone, the losses are estimated at $4.3 billion, a figure that rose to $12 billion for Latin America and the Caribbean, taking into account the development of the industry. between 2020 and 2023.

Last year, the entry of one million 945 thousand visitors was registered, exceeding the estimate of the authorities that pointed to a movement of 1.8 million people.

In total, last year tourist spending reached $4.7 billion, a figure similar to that reported before the respiratory pandemic.

Regarding hotel occupancy in 2022, the numbers speak of 53%, an estimate made based on 26,000 hotel rooms available. It is estimated that there are still close to 4,000 hotel rooms that remain closed

For this year, the authorities point to a movement between 2.2 million and 2.3 million visitors, a figure that would be close to the 2.4 million visitors reported in 2019.