The stopover that stayed: Copa’s hub feeds a dollarized economy where MICE, Casco Viejo boutiques and two coasts turn transit into a destination.
Top source markets (ATP, 2024 full-year breakdown)
Source: Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá (ATP) · Verified September 2026
urban luxury · Sofitel Legend, American Trade, rooftop skyline
beach corridor · resort flags, surf and second homes
island boutique · eco-lodges, private-island formats
The full Panama Market Brief is in production. These are the desk notes shaping it.
Copa’s Stopover — now up to 15 days at no extra airfare — drew 215,000 visitors in 2025 (+25%); the canal transit market is becoming a stay market.
74 international events and 113,900 participants in H1 2026; 110 events confirmed for the year — midweek, off-season demand by design.
A fully dollarized economy removes FX risk — the opposite trade to Costa Rica’s colón squeeze, two hours apart.
3M+ visitors, H1 2026 up 17.4%, occupancy 67.6% — and a stopover program converting 215k transits into stays. The Copa hub, the MICE calendar and the dollarization advantage.
Read the brief →Two markets, one engine: city towers absorbed by events and stopovers, the Riviera Pacífica extending west to Pedasí, and island frontiers still waiting for institutional product.
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