Panamanian travel agencies merge into alliance
The eight most prestigious Panamanian tour operators agreed to form the country’s first-ever Strategic Travel Alliance –dubbed XPLORA- with a view to provide their customers with a mesh of services featuring exclusive products at very affordable prices.
XPLORA’s philosophy will be based on the preservation of the members’ individuality since each and every company will continue to hold its own from both a managerial and juridical standpoint. Operations, on the other hand, will be run on the basis of fare negotiations and preferential services taking into account the volume of travelers the new merger will handle.
The alliance is made up of Internacional de Viajes Blok, Columbia Tours, Ejecutivos, Intertrade, Nova Terra, Olympic, Omnitur and Royal Tours.
As to the resulting benefits for customers, some of the highlights include more affordable prices in the market, guaranteed bookings thanks to a pre-purchase policy, global assistance and access to such additional benefits as VIP preferential treatment anywhere in the world.
The alliance’s hopes of success are pinned not only on the consolidated productivity the eight merged agencies could put out, but also on the experience XPLORA’s members have amassed in different fields of the tourist sector. In all, the eight companies combine for over 150 years of experience under their belts in the travel realm.
In addition, there’s now the possibility of relying on one of the world’s classiest international travel agency partnerships –Hickory of Latin America (HOLA), an affiliate of Hickory Travel Systems in Latin America. This is an international consolidator that furnishes its members with lower and more competitive fares worldwide, as well as an endless assortment of peerless services provided by another world-class company.
On the other hand, Caribbean News Digital learned that Decameron, the Colombian hotel chain, is planning to fork over $33 million in the next three years to expand its presence in Panama. The new initiative comprises the building of a golf course, a 183-room lodging facility in the nation’s capital –completion is scheduled for 2003- and a 240-room beach resort.
In the same breath, Panamanian tourism authorities are wallowing in the recently opened Hernando Colon Conference Center, a building that complements the facilities of the Panama Canal Meliá Hotel.
Outfitted with roomy facilities and cutting-edge technology, the center stands for an ideal place to develop the country’s business tourism.
Moreover, since the establishment is hedged with a lagoon and wide woods areas, there’s a project in the offing to both implement and offer all kinds of ecological tourism activities.
