Tourism, Panama, Chiriqui & David

The dream for anyone living in Boquete is for some airline to offer a direct flight from our local airport in David to anywhere in the lower 48 states, preferably in the Southern US.  But unfortunately airlines are all cutting back, cutting down service, routes and flights.

According to LA PRENSA, Panama’s tourist minister, Ruben Blades, has the same vision.

Rubén Blades, director of the Instituto Panameño de Turismo (Ipat), thinks that building a new airport in David is one of the keys for developing tourism in the province of Chiriquí.

“We need to be able to accommodate flights arriving from Europe with more than 200 passengers, and that requires another airport,” he said.

Inés Esquivel, regional director of the Autoridad de Aeronáutica Civil (AAC), informed Blades that David’s Aeropuerto Enrique Malek currently receives international passengers flying on such aircraft as Boeing 737 (which accommodates up to 140 passengers) and Embraer (which carries 90 passengers).

There is also a plan to enlarge the docking platform to accommodate more than one large-scale aircraft for refueling or maintenance procedures.

Tourism in the area needs more than just an investment in a new airport, said Esquivel, who described an incident in 2007 in which a Boeing 737 arrived asking for 200 packaged meals. No restaurant in David is capable of serving that amount of food.

“The Canadian passengers left hungry because all we had to serve them was fuel,” she said.

Sam Taliafero has his own take on the idea . . .

As a developer and resort operator this should come as welcome news, but I am skeptical. International airlines are not going to schedule flights to this area until there are a lot more beach resorts to attract them and that is many years away if ever. There is a 60 room resort at Las Olas and several small B&Bs at Boca Chica, but you need 200-300 room operations to justify the flights.

So, what comes first, the chicken or the egg? Realistically resorts and the airport have to come at the same time. The huge success of the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica where they built the Liberia International airport came at the same time that large scale developments and resorts were being planned. Certainly if the government made the commitment both politically and financially to do it, the other players would come and develop the needed infrastructure, but this will take years. At least 4-5 before anything could be purchased, permitted and constructed. The developers have to commit a certain number of seats before any airline will commit to a route and that commitment must be backed up with a bond. Right now the airlines are cutting back flights to mega resorts in the Caribbean because of high fuel costs and slower travel market. It will take a bold developer indeed to commit to building a $30-50 million dollar project in slow economic times.
But if the minister wants to make some improvements to the airport, here are a few suggestions that would cost very little and would improve the image of our province greatly.

A realistic luggage system instead of the archaic hole in the wall with a man calling out your luggage number while you fight your way through the crowd to get to your bags.

Upgrade the immigration area to handle the 20 or so passengers arriving from Costa Rica. Last time I flew in we waited about 1 1/2 hours for the one window to check our passports and someone to open each and every bag and inspect them for contraband.

Make sure the plumbing works in the bathrooms and design it so the door to the bathroom is not a view to the urinals when it opens.

Thanks Sam! I was beginning to think I was the only one in Chiriqui who didn’t like peeing in public or found the luggage “system” unbelievable!

My “Other” Blogs . . .

A few months ago WordPress came out with a really cool blog format for displaying photographs that picks up a color in the picture . . . then uses that as a background.  You have to take a look to see how it works.

So I started a blog of my photos of life in Panama and my cruise travel photos.  After about a month I realized the combination on one blog didn’t work, so now I have finally separated the photos and offer them in two photoblogs . . .

www.BeautifulPanama.wordpress.com - Photos of life in Panama and Boquete

www.CruisingGuide.wordpress.com - My cruise travel photos from around the world

I’m committed to adding to each weekly, if not daily . . . so check them out!

The Way It Was

I’m always amazed at the stuff I find on YouTube! Here in two parts is an old Holland America Line promo video for a Transatlantic voyage on the old ROTTERDAM, the first Dam ship I ever sailed on.

It’s in Dutch, but it gives a good glimpse of what Transatlantic travel was like. Notice that you could take your car along! Also notice that all the food was prepared on board, not prepackaged.

When I first sailed on the ROTTERDAM it still had the Dutch crew, so things were a lot like what you see on the video. Notice the ROTTERDAM Cast song and dance presentations have changed a bit!

Part I  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gY91ttMEdc

Part II http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b2qMOiLBSg&feature=related