tourism

Authority starts domestic ads

The government will spend $1 million a year over the next four years to promote tourism.

la prensa

homegrown: Tourism officials have started an ad campaign aimed at promoting destinations to the local population.1120869

The Tourism Authority of Panama has started to broadcast television commercials aimed at raising the domestic profile of the industry.

The authority is using the slogan, “With tourism, the country wins, and we all win.” The advertisements are focused on emphasizing the need to provide courteous treatment to tourists, said authority Director Rubén Blades.

The public awareness campaign is the first part of a $200,000 effort to promote tourism domestically over the next five months. Kathy Guardia, director of marketing for the authority, said the second phase would focus on promoting various destinations.

“Sometimes it's amazing how little we know about our own country,” Blades said.

The authority is also launching an effort to identify the number one tourist attraction in each province. This will be used to create the “Nine wonders of Panama.”

The overall campaign is being directed by the firm Márquez Worldwide, which was awarded the contract by the tourism authority. It will spend $1 million annually over the next four years.

In addition to domestic marketing, the authority is also laying out its strategies for attracting more foreign visitors. That strategy has been impacted by the economic crisis afflicting much of the developed world.

“Next year we will strengthen our presence in the niches that have suffered a minor impact,” Blades said.

While acknowledging that the crisis is going to have some effect, he expects Panama to suffer less than other markets because “there is an unmet demand for tourism.”