News

In a flurry of recent press releases, the travel industry has announced several new connections to Panama, as the country’s tourism opportunities continue to expand.

The latest big news comes from Air Europa, the Spanish airline, which has announced direct flights between Madrid and Panama City, starting in February. The new flights will be five days a week, leaving Madrid at 3:05 p.m. and arriving at 7:40 pm the same night; return flights will leave Panama and 9:40 p.m. and arrive in Madrid at 1:15 p.m. the next day.

The airline will use modern Dreamliner B787-9 aircraft, according to a press release.

“Panama City is an important city of commerce as well as tourism and we will cater for both business and leisure travelers,” said Air Europa’s UK director Colin Stewart in the statement.

Air Europa offers connections throughout Europe, including regular flights from Gatwick London to Madrid, which makes the airline an exciting new player for Panama. Tourism is a key driver of property sales and there is potential for huge growth from Europe.

Air Europa’s announcement comes on the heels of news that Air France will be increase its weekly number of flights from six to seven, starting Oct. 29. The Air France-KLM Group will eventually offer 14 weekly flights to Panama (7 from Paris and 7 from Amsterdam), according to coverage in Telemetro.

“Thanks to the daily flight of Air France to Panama, the members of our frequent flyer program will be able to get more out of the agreement we have with the Copa Airlines company, which allows Flying Blue members to accumulate and use their miles in the Copa Airlines network,” Air France said in a statement.

Panama Tourism Minister Gustavo Him highlighted the importance of the expanding number of flights. “This shows the growing interest that Panama is generating internationally, after its international tourist campaign and the work that the ATP does to promote the country in the European market,” Him said.

Meanwhile, in the cruise industry, the government of Chile recently announced plans to launch cruise routes between Panama and the port of Valparaiso, taking advantage of the new cruise terminal under construction on Amador Causeway.

The new route should launch in 2020, according to German Becker, Chile’s ambassador to Panama. He referred to the new cruises as a “’milestone that will fuse cultures and traditions.”

The new cruise connection will serve as a “starting point” for future routes with connections to other cities, Becker told La Estrella.

“All actions are being taken to advance the project, as quickly as possible,” he said.