Recession Tourism Growing in Panama

Wednesday, May 20 2009
Written by Matt Landau
The Panama Report

In a previous article, we outline what we’ve been referring to as recession tourism in Panama or the increasing demand for low cost, high value experiences that, in many cases, give way to temporary or full-time relocation by foreigners experiencing downtrodden times in their respective countries. It’s a sector not detailed in IPAT presentations or addressed by the nation’s influential leaders, but whether intended or not, Panama’s recession tourism sector is growing, fast.

Maybe it’s the escapist effect – the same reason people commit suicide or runaway – to avoid harsh conditions. In fact, much of what Panama’s seeing is a mature group of runaways looking to weather the storm somewhere warm and breezy. While Panama’s recession tourists probably aren’t doing so secretly, there is an inherent rebellion about their flight and with the onset of low season (and it’s respectively less expensive lodging and tours), more and more visitors are looking to hop on cheap flights (from Newark, Dulles, Houston, Atlanta…etc) to experience good weather, thriving business, happy people: in two words, to experience the exotic. Here are several non-costly experiences not worth missing as a recession tourist in Panama.

1. Cigars in Penonome: Several small factories lie just off Panama’s Inter-American highway, producing some of the most original cigars on the planet. Even if you’re not a cigar smoker, tour these industrial units (free of charge) and take in their old-school Cuban flare including obligatory lector on premises reading daily news feeds to employees as they roll. The owners of each shop live close by to keep an eye on the process, offering up personal advice should you be interested in buying some of their craft (at hugely reduced prices).

2. Surfing in Santa Catalina: The Costa Rica of old, where making a buck is a distant offshoot from stellar waves. Regarded by insider-surfers as arguably the most exciting break in all of Central America, Santa Catalina offers that rustic surfers charm that’s since been replaced elsewhere in the world by phony hotels and wannabe try-hards. In Santa Catalina, dollar beers are compulsory, as are super cheap surf lessons (from dudes who’d probably do it for free), and next-to-nothing surf board rentals. A lack of hotels, restaurants, and tours could be seen as disadvantageous. To Panama’s recession tourists though, it is rather seen as primitively refreshing.

3. Beaches in San Blas: For the recession traveler, try visiting San Blas by car. Yep, there’s a service that brings visitors from Panama City (via large SUV) through the mountains all the way to the sublime shores of the Caribbean coast, stopping for a simultaneous view of both oceans. For roughly $50 (round trip) spend time with one of Panama’s oldest indigenous tribes, the Kuna Indians. Lounge on their beaches, eat their fresh lobsters, or sway in their handmade hammocks where the recession has a way of naturally dissipating with the breeze.

4. Turtles in Isla Canas: This little-visited island just minutes off mainland Los Santos is one of the places real travelers love to visit. There’re no beach chair rentals or puka shell necklaces for sale. Instead, just a humble community of fishermen and farmers, happy to share their undisturbed coasts and nesting leather back turtles. A water taxi out to the island is about $10, beers at the main restaurant (if you could call it that) cost less than a gumball in DC, and sleeping arrangements are more or less limited to what you can carry on your back. This entire experience – one of sunset tents on the beach, fresh clams on the half shell, horseback rides for a dollar, and a window into and old-school Panamanian coastal neighborhood – is culture rich and touristically untainted.

5. Spear fishing off Isla Taboga: It’s a tiny taste of the Caribbean just several miles off Panama City’s modern skyline: red, green, and yellow houses set amidst a sloping St. Martin-esque mountain that cascades down into the sea. Visiting Taboga is reading a pirated page out of old Panama: the roundtrip ferry is less than $15, fried snappers cost a few bucks, and tours like snorkeling or spear fishing (off the back side of the island) are priced as if they’re merely covering costs. It’s an adventure far cheaper than anything similar in Costa Rica or Mexico, wound down by a night in Hotel Vereda Tropical (a European transplant of a hotel with sweeping bay views) where quaint rooms cost less than $70/night.

One argument of today’s recession goers will invariably be this: I need to cancel vacation plans during hard times, not create them. I need to save money, not spend it. But coming down and exploring Panama (in many cases) is cheaper than staying at home (and certainly more rewarding). Panama gets a bad rap for having an increasingly high cost of living but this pertains primarily to high-end lifestyles. Looking to vacation on a budget? There are certainly a slew of options. If $2 meals $10/night lodging isn’t enough, try these $40 adventure tours, $3 Cuban cigars, and $1 beers on the beach: enough to turn your recession frown upside-down and wait out the world’s hard times in style.