A hotel construction boom is under way in Panama. As to the estimates of APATEL (Panamanian Association of Hotels) and the Panamanian Board of Tourism, around eight to ten new hotels will be constructed in Panama in the next five years, adding more than 3,000 new rooms to the market.

The h&h (hotel and hospitality) sector is preparing to serve an increasing number of tourists who are visiting Panama each year. In the first trimester of 2007 (January-March), 389,258 tourists visited Panama, or 8.7% more than in the same period last year according to statistics from the Panamanian Institute of Tourism (IPAT).

The numbers only show tourist hotels in Panama City which reflected an overall occupancy rate of 53.3% and an overall increase of 11.4% over 2006, and the numbers reflected were 65% from high-end hotels and 34% from secondary hotels.

Holiday Inn Panama Canal, Radisson Colon 2000 and Trump Ocean Club, are some of the hotels that will be opening in Panama.