Top 10 Costa Rica

Panama $40 to get in: Costa Rica $26 to get out. Where would you rather go?

With a choice like that it is not too hard for the traveler who has not been to either country to make. Panama is usually second choice for travelers to Central America in the first place because of the years of eco-marketing Costa Rica is famous for. From my experience in hospitality, most people traveling to Panama on vacation have already experienced Costa Rica.

I just returned from a two day trip to Costa Rica and had the experience of traveling through their international airport on my way home. It was clean, tidy and efficient and looked very tourist friendly with photos of nature all around. There was an abundance of gift shops, coffee shops and restaurants and even free internet. What I found unattractive was the line to get the dreaded exit stamp which required a payment of $26. A big sign was on the back wall showing a breakdown of the various institutes getting their share of the income. I listened as a number of people grumbled about this fee to leave the county. It really felt like a stick up!

Of course on top of that fee you have the various airlines fees such as fuel surcharges, baggage fees, airport taxes and other sundry fees. When you add it all up it amounts to a great deal above the cost of your actual ticket. I have posted recently about Panama eliminating the $5 tourist card and upping their fees of departure to $40 a person. If Costa Rica charges only $26 to get out of the country how can Panama compete charging $40 especially when adding it to the price of the airfare before the tourist arrives? This will make traveling to Panama much more expensive than it already is. For a family traveling on holiday this adds significantly to the cost of a vacation. I know many will say, what’s the big deal, but for most traveling in these more difficult economic times the decision on where to go on holiday will come to “chump change” like this. At least Costa Rica is smart enough to hit you up on the way out where you have no choice and have not experienced the sticker shock of high airfare. And by the way, Costa Rica is really feeling the ravages of this recession. I saw first hand how the tourism industry is way down from previous years.

So what can Panama do in order to pay for the airport infrastructure if they don’t charge a departure fee? Panama collects taxes on food, hotels and just about everything else a tourist touches. If these taxes must go up slightly in order to pay a portion to the airport, I find it much more attractive than placing barriers to entry by charging these fees up front or upon exiting the country. Costa Rica has a much higher sales tax rate on hotels and restaurants and people don’t seem to mind paying it when they are having a great time. But when you are making your plans to travel and comparing costs or leaving the country and being forced to pay in order to leave I find it very objectionable and I am sure it will hurt tourism in Panama.

La Prensa

The next January 1 passengers traveling from Tocumen airport will have to pay 40 dollars in the rate of the Passenger Services International (departure tax), double what is currently paid.

The charge will added to the ticket price, but for those passengers who purchased their travel before it became official that the new rate or for any other reason have not paid the $ 40 ticket, the difference will have to cancel the airline at the time of billing.

Javier Martinez, director of Plans and Programs Tocumen SA, said yesterday that the rate increase meets the infrastructure investments have been made at the airport.

“The rate of rises in investments and infrastructure improvements. From 2004 to 2007, during implementation of Phase 1 Master Plan, improvements were made that somehow have to reflect on the ticket. Tocumen expand their rates at a time marked “inorportuno” both by the World Tourism Organization as Panamanian business representatives, who believe that, at the end, such measures are expensive destination and lose competitiveness.

Martinez explained that Tocumen made a comparative study of the fees charged at other airports in the region and that Panama, after the increase, remain in the regional average. “We must also recognize the improvements that have been made to the airport, and if we as a whole the rates charged to passengers and airlines, we have a very good position,” he said.