Thursday, February 11, 2021
The Panama Tourism Authority (ATP), in association with Panama’s Ministry of Environment, has launched the “1,000 Kilometers of Trails” project to conserve important ecological trails that are important for tourism, ecology and scientific discovery.
Created within the framework of the Tourism, Conservation and Research (TCR) strategy of Panama’s Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism (PMTS) 2020-2025, this initiative aims to conserve nature and branch out rural economies by improving the outdoor recreation industry and green tourism in protected areas. It is also aligned with the national government’s Colmena Plan, which will help rural communities benefit from economic activities.
To quote Ivan Eskildsen, Panama’s minister of tourism, “Tourism based on Panama’s Green Heritage is one of the fundamental areas of the economic reactivation strategy and it is incredibly important we create and seek out these opportunities. As a result of the pandemic, travelers are looking to make stronger connections with nature and spaces where they can appreciate biodiversity. This project launches the TCR strategy, an innovative model that creates synergies between tourism, conservation, and research to appeal to the preferences of a growing market of conscious travelers.”
There are 125 protected areas in Panama, of which 30 percent are terrestrial and 10 percent are coastal marine. With this partnership, the Ministry of Environment aims increasing the protected coastal marine areas from 10 percent to 30 percent by the end of this year.
“Protected areas, private reserves, roads between rural communities, beaches, mangroves, among others, contain a myriad of recreational and tourist attractions, but they require infrastructure. Therefore, a multisectoral effort is needed to improve them,” said Adrian Benedetti, coordinator of the “1,000 Kilometers of Trails” project with the ATP’s product development department.
Friday, March 31, 2023
Friday, March 31, 2023
Friday, March 31, 2023
