Curacao, located off the western coast of Venezuela, is looking to Panama to help it expand its tourist market.
(prensa.com) The island’s airline, DAE, started offering a direct flight to and from Panama City in October. The island’s government is also in negotiations with Copa Airlines to begin service to Curacao.
Tourism Manager Angelo Harms said the goal is to have a Copa flight in service by next June that would have an average capacity of 80 percent. Harms also said the country will be spending $7 million annually promoting Curacao to the Panamanian market. It will be advertising the country’s beaches, diving, marine parks, tennis, golf, museums and aquariums, as well as the historic city center.
The country is expanding the number of hotel rooms, and that some 1,700 rooms have been added over the past seven years.
Currently, the country receives 250,000 overnight guests a year and 250,000 cruise ship tourists. Most of the tourists come from Holland.