MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Panama wants to be Home Port for cruises, but companies are 'asking too much'
“We're continuing with the meetings” but demands from the companies are above our estimate of economic return, said Tourism minister Gustavo Him. 
Panama hopes that the number of cruise passengers that will be landing in the country could reach 300.000 to 400.000. Panama is holding tough negotiations with cruise lines hoping they will return to the country, using local facilities as Home Port, but government authorities admit that the demands from the companies are too high.
“We're continuing with the meetings but it's become a bit complicated since the demands from the companies, and what they are asking for us to contribute with are above our estimate of economic return from those investments” said Tourism minister Gustavo Him.
However the minister did not reveal the demands from the cruise companies, since “we are still holding discussions”.
Panama hopes that the number of cruise passengers that will be landing in the country could reach 300.000 to 400.000.
This number compares with the arrivals in 2015 of 123.935 visitors, which Panamanian officials said it was 70% of the 014 arrivals.
Top Comments
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Read all commentsWait till the Nicaraguan canal is done, then Panama will be SOL.
Mar 07th, 2016 - 12:07 pm 0They have raped companies long enough charging absorb-anent fees for the canal.
Except that the Nicaragua canal project is dead in the water at the moment.
Mar 07th, 2016 - 12:19 pm 0Just been to Panama, spent 5 days there. Needs a lot of work on tourism infrastructure before it would be acceptable as Home Port. The docking facilities are in Colón on the Caribbean side of the Canal - it's not the most attractive place in Latin America.
Mar 09th, 2016 - 07:04 am 0Agree with “Hammer Blow” - the Nicaraguan canal project will never be completed.
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