Panama to Invest Less Money in Tourist Promotion

The Panamanian Tourism Institute (IPAT) will pony up nearly $4 million this year in advertising the country´s travel attractions overseas, a 55 percent decline from the money shelled out over the past two years.

Finance Vice Minister Publio Cortes told local newspaper La Prensa the government made the decision based on the fact that the first quarter of the year has already gone by.

In 2003, authorities forked over $9 million in tourism publicity around the world, especially in the United States and in some European nations.

IPAT will decide in coming weeks what local company will go ahead with this year´s promotional campaign elsewhere around the globe.

Tourism experts estimate the Panamanian leisure industry could churn out as many as $750 million this year.

Preliminary figures point to a double-digit spike in the number of travelers (850,000 tourists) that visited Panama in the course of 2003.