Best destinations for congresses and conventions
Panama among the best destinations for congresses and conventions
Panama climbed from 19th to 10th position in the 2016 Latin American ranking of the International Association of Congresses and Conventions (ICCA), while in the world ranged from position 58 to 51, compared to In 2015, this was announced by the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP).
The ICCA report measures the most popular destinations for holding international conventions based on the largest number of events, in which Panama – by region – improves its position with 45 events, above Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
Gustavo Him, Minister of Tourism of Panama, said that the ATP has worked together with the private sector to resume tourism congresses and conventions, so the entity is betting on the construction of new structures with advanced technology for the celebration of events.
Him assured that Panama is being strengthened in congress tourism with the construction of the Amador Convention Center, which presents a 45% advance and will be ready by the end of 2018, the beginning of works of the Convention Center of Chitré and soon the Center Of Green Conventions, in Boquete, Chiriqui.
“This ranking motivates us to continue working to attract more world-class events to the country,” he said.
The Congressional and Conventions Department of the ATP reported that among the 45 events in 2016 they stood out: the Congress of the American Confederation of Urology, with 2,272 participants; “World Congress of the International Academy of Cosmetic Dermatology”, with 1,366 attendees; And PanAmerican Congress of Rheumatology -PANLAR-, with 1,350 participants.
Meanwhile, from January to May 2017 Panama received 43 relevant events, including Allergan, Global Hard Rock Conference, “Rothans, Benson & Hedes 2017 National Commercial Conference”, Special Olympics, US Grain Congress, IPPA Summit, II Congress Of Agriculture in Controlled Environment.
These events reflect an approximate 13 thousand quarter nights without counting the rest of the 43 captured in the first half of 2017, anticipating that between May and December of this year there are already approximately 41 events confirmed for Panama.
