IPAT to unvail a new Tourism master plan featuring......
The Minister of Tourism!
My office received this invitation today to attend a presentation about the new tourism master plan by the ministry of tourism. I wonder how much input the tourist operators have had regarding this plan? Our resort is the largest in the province of Chiriqui and we have not
been consulted on how they should spend the 10% they collect from us
for each room night. My inquiry to other operators in our area indicate that IPAT hatched this up all on their own with the help of high priced New York advertising agencies.
If you sense a bit of angst in my writing you are correct. I see no support for the interior of the country by the tourism ministry even though their past ad campaign shows the interior in every commercial and print ad with the tag line, The path less traveled. It is a perfect tag line because the interior of the country really is the path less traveled by IPAT and tourists alike! With 350 employees and a sizable budget, you would expect to at least show Boquete on their website and literature and bilingual staffing at the tourist center here. They claim a million plus tourist arrivals and yet the occupancy rates in the interior support only a few thousand tourist taking the path less traveled.
If you wish to attend, just mention my name at the door, and I am sure you will have no problem getting in. But, just in case, print out this invitation as a backup.
