BRIEFS. tourism

Number of european visitors jumps

Carlos Lemos/la prensa

busy: With the addition of two flights between Panama and Europe, the number of visitors from that continent has gone up.1119374

The arrival of European visitors to Panama grew by 23.1 percent in the first nine months of the year, according to the Tourism Authority of Panama.

Between January and September, 71,154 visitors from Europe entered Panama, 13,373 more than the same period of 2007.

Spain has had the most visitors, with 14,820 coming to Panama. They were closely followed by Italians (13,216), French (10,174), British (8,833) and Germans (6,997.)

Europe has become one of the key markets for the promotion of Panama as a tourist destination. In general, European tourists have high levels of discretionary income and often stay longer than visitors from nearby countries.

The Tourism Authority invests $1.8 million annually on advertising in Europe, about 30 percent of its advertising budget, said Deputy Director Carl-Fredrik Nordström. It plans to spend $745,000 in advertising in Britain during the rest of 2008. A delegation comprised of tourism officials and representatives from the private sector just returned after promoting the country for four days at the World Travel Market in London, one of the most important tourism fairs in the world. The resumption of the flight of Air France-KLM between Amsterdam and Panama in March, and a fourth flight between Spain and Panama that was started by Iberia Airlines in May, have made it easier for Europeans to get to this country.

Those flights have proved to be popular, as the occupancy rates have generally been above average.