With the go dynamize the complementary characteristics Costa Rico and Panama hove in tourism mmatters and incentive shared visit packages, the Ministers of Tourism from both countries, Carlos Ricardo Benavides and Rubén Blades, respectively, met in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Subjects on the agenda included aspects on normalization of rules, air flows, sustainability and borderline schedules, with the purpose of making progress in themes from the binational agenda in tourism matters from both countries. As both heads of state remarked, both Costa Rica and Panama have in common a series of elements that will enrich the marketing strategy, especially in tourism markets from other continents, specifically Europe.
To this add the opportunity of exchanging experiences for the improvement of the quality of tourism services given in these two nations.
We have talked about diverse subjects, among which, the possibility of elaborating joint tourist packages that will allow us to increase the visitation from Europe. Beyond the commercial and tourism areas, Costa Rica and Panama really have a lot in common; we are natural allies and want to create a type of continuity, with the same rules in both countries, said Carlos Ricardo Benavides, Minister of Tourism of Costa Rica.
Benavides added that it is long distance visitation which presents the ideal conditions to establish the strategy for a shared destination.
His counterpart, Rubén Blades considered there are complementary offers, for example: in the case of Costa Rican ecotourism; Panama can offer archeology and culture.
On these matters he indicated that for the next binational tourism reunion, they will be inviting the presidents of the Chambers of Tourism from both countries as participants, with the purpose of starting actions that permit establishing a complementary agenda and thus make a clear homologation of the conditions offered, both in Costa Rica as in Panama in terms of quality, services and offers.
Panama is interested in developing a series of programs as the ones successfully implemented by Costa Rica in matters of sustainability, as is the case of the Certificate for Sustainable Tourism (CST), or duplicate systems as the Tourism Declaratory that could allow them to categorize services in hotels. We want to create joint packages to assist in strengthening the destinations as well as mediate in the normalization of schedules on frontiers; on this subject we need the participation of various institutions such as Migration, said Rubén Blades, Minister of Panama.
The Head of State added that both countries are also willing to explore the subject of aeronautical flow through an open air policy, which would mean better options of Me flow of tourists between both nations.
Another of the subjects in which Costa Rica would be exchanging experiences with Panama has to do with the simplification of proceedings, on area in which our Southern neighbor has made significant advances; this with the objective of enlarging and improving the corporate service.
