Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.
Panama Commits Itself for Eco-tourism
Eco-tourism is a huge industry in many parts of Latin America, and specifically Central America. Now Panama wants its piece of the pie, and as a result, is committed to promoting its eco-tourism industry and building up how they promote it.
To do this, the Board of National Protected Areas of the Environment Ministry (MiAmbiente) drew a plan aimed at designing world-class eco-tourism destinations, starting from the rich biodiversity the Panamanian nation has.
Among the priority protected areas stand the Chagres National Park, Coiba, Altos de Campana, Volcano Baru, sovereignty and San Lorenzo, emphasized MiAmbiente. The national director of Protected Areas, Zuleika Pinzón assured that this strategy will not only boost the development of tourism in the country, but it will help maintain the sustainability of these places besides preserving biodiversity dwelling in those natural reserves.
Source: Prensa Latina
Panama’s Role In The Sharing Economy
Panama has a diverse economy, and like most diverse economy, has its ups and downs. This is why many believe that in order for Panama do become more sustainable economically, there needs to be innovation and new ideas. One of these ideas is that of a “sharing economy.” In this recent opinion piece, our friends at PTY Life discuss how this would impact Panama’s economy, and how to implement it.
When a person engages in this type of activity, the person must feel like they live in an apartment in Barcelona without thinking of a mortgage, or that a person has a driver that can take them wherever they want in San Francisco without worrying about car insurance. The sense of serenity and comfort possible with the Sharing Economy is limitless. Likewise, there are disadvantages and obstacles that come along with the Sharing Economy.
Source: PTY Life
The Giant New Panama Canal Will Change the Global Economy (Again).
With all of the attention that the Panama Canal Expansion has received over the past few months, it’s interesting to see a variety of takes on what the impact will be. While nearly everyone agrees that the global economic impact will be massive, Gizmodo had a great piece this week outlining exactly why. There are also some great images of the process leading up to the flooding. Check it out.
City Lab’s Laura Bliss pointed out yesterday , the expansion project is nearly complete, with engineers flooding the new locks in May. It’s been underway since 2007, and has cost $5.25 billion, all in order to accommodate the size of a new generation of container ships called New Panamax, which can wedge into the new 1,400-foot-long locks.
Source: Gizmodo
5 Reasons Why Panama is a Great Place to Start a New Business
Looking for a new, creative way to invest in Panama this year? Panama may be your best choice in 2015. The climate for starting a business is very favorable to foreign investment, whether big or small, and there are many options to choose from should you decide to do so. In one of our recent blog posts, we go over 5 key reasons why Panama is a great place to start a new business. Here’s an example:
1. Labor Costs: If you want to start a new business, no matter where you are, calculating favorable labor costs is critical. Panama has a very low cost of living, and therefore, some of the most competitive labor costs around. It also has a surge of foreign and local workers, skilled or unskilled, that are populating the country in search of work. And there’s plenty of work these days. You can cut about 50-70% out of your labor costs when compared to N. America right off the bat, and that’s significant, especially to new businesses.
Read the 4 reasons why Panama is a great place to start a new business
