June 23, 2024 11:18:17 PM
(MENAFN – Newsroom Panama) The World Travel and Tourism Council predicts increased activity in Panama, driven by air travel convenience and visitor interest in discovering sustainable travel destinations.
This year, Panama’s travel and tourism industry is expected to create 392,000 jobs, contributing $13.5 billion to the local economy and accounting for 19.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
This estimate, from a study conducted by the London-based World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in collaboration with Oxford Economics, highlights the country’s huge potential to attract tourists by air and sea and to strengthen its commitment to nature-focused and sustainable tourism destinations.
Last year, the tourism sector, which includes hotels, restaurants, transport, air transport and other related activities, employed 380,000 people, 47,500 more than were registered in 2019, before the pandemic.
The country stood out among 98 tourism destinations that broke records last year in terms of the industry’s economic contribution to GDP.
Panama is consolidating its position as one of the most resilient countries in the world in terms of tourism, with positive figures reinforcing the role of the sector as a pillar of social development and economic growth, and remaining a global tourism benchmark.
Spending by international visitors to Panama will reach a record high of $9.4 billion, up more than 23% compared to 2019.
Similarly, spending on domestic tourism is expected to hit a record high of $2.2 billion.
The report also found that Panama’s tourism industry is expected to be worth $19.1 billion by 2034.
Panama expects 472,000 people to be employed in the tourism sector within 10 years.
Sectors such as luxury tourism are growing in Panama, and Copa Airlines accounts for one-third of the airline’s routes, directly generating 150,000 tourists coming to Panama through its stopover program.
The study also revealed strong interest among younger Gen Z tourists in visiting natural destinations like Panama.
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