News

President Laurentino Cortizo this week officially inaugurated a new $200 million state-of-the-art cruise ship terminal on Amador Causeway, a major new driver for the country’s tourism and real estate sectors.

The new facility can host two cruise ships simultaneously, introducing thousands of tourists daily to Panama. It will also serve as a home port for ships, which means passengers will largely arrive and depart through Panama City.

For Panama’s property business, the cruise activity supplies a steady stream of international visitors who may be experiencing Panama for the first time. That type of exposure is invaluable; many of those transit passengers will come back and many will eventually stay, like so many travelers before them.

The 82-hectare cruise facility, the first on Panama’s Pacific coast, is designed to meet the highest tourism and customs facilities standards, with all the modern technologies.

President Cortizo emphasized the facility’s larger impact on Panama’s economy in the initial ceremony. Not only will the cruise terminal attract more visitors, it will reinforce Panama’s role as the maritime and air hub of the region.

Panama received nearly 320,000 visitors on cruise ships in 2023, double the previous year, Denise Guillen of the Panama Tourism Authority told reporters.

“The growth is exponential,” she said.

The facility in Panama City was built by a consortium led by China Harbor Engineering Company.