Panama Unveils Nation Brand to Draw Tourists and Investors
Panama · TOURISM
Key Facts
- —Launch Mulino presented the Panama nation brand on August 26 in Amador.
- —Slogan The Spanish original is Panamá, Anfitrión del Mundo, or Panama, Host of the World.
- —Budget Promtur set aside US$6.5 million under a two-year contract.
- —Cruises Port passenger movement rose 21.6 percent to 488,567 in seven months.
- —Tourism Panama drew 3,004,266 visitors in 2025 and 1,755,998 by June 2026.
Mulino presented Panamá, Anfitrión del Mundo in Amador, backed by a two-year budget of US$6.5 million.
Panama has a new national identity, and its Spanish name is Panamá, Anfitrión del Mundo. The Panama nation brand was presented on August 26 at the Panama Convention Center in Amador.
What Panama unveiled in Amador
President José Raúl Mulino presented the country’s new identity on August 26 at the Panama Convention Center in Amador. Two state bodies ran the launch, the Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá and Promtur.
Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá means Panama Tourism Authority, and is usually shortened to ATP. Promtur is the Fondo de Promoción Turística, a tourism promotion fund created by Law 9 of 2017.
ATP administrator Gloria De León Zubieta and Promtur director general Salomón Shamah led the presentation. Vice foreign minister Carlos Arturo Hoyos spoke for the diplomatic side of the effort.
The Panama nation brand covers tourism, investment, exports and culture in a single identity. Officials framed it as a step beyond messaging built only around the canal.
The slogan in Spanish and in English
The official slogan is Panamá, Anfitrión del Mundo, and that Spanish wording is the original. English-language releases render it as Panama, Host of the World.
The phrase leans on hosting rather than sightseeing, which was a deliberate choice. De León said a country brand is about who Panamanians are, not what others say they are.
She put it this way at the launch: when you do not define who you are, others build that perception for you. Her Spanish wording was quoted by Infobae and by Panamanian outlets.
The identity also carries a motto about receiving guests generously and creating shared prosperity. Its four stated pillars are generosity, connection, diversity and trust.
Who pays for the Panama nation brand
Promtur budgeted US$6.5 million for the design and rollout, under a two-year contract. La Prensa reported the figure when the fund opened its international tender in June 2025.
The money covers diagnostic work, market research, creative design and the full deployment abroad. Promtur ran an invitation-based procurement process to select a specialist agency.
Officials describe more than a year of perception studies and consultation before the launch. Public bodies, private business groups and civil society were consulted at home and abroad.
Promtur’s own funding has been unstable in the recent past. In February 2024 its annual budget was cut from US$20 million to US$10 million.
Where the message is meant to land
The stated audiences are foreign investors, tourists, ordinary consumers and other governments. That reach is wider than the tourism-only campaigns Panama has run in the past.
Promtur’s tender named Tocumen International Airport as a main showcase for the identity. The fund put yearly passenger flow through its two terminals at roughly 20 million.
Panama’s previous tourism line was Panamá, vive por más, promoted in nine priority markets. No official priority-market list for the new identity has been published so far.
ATP data for 2025 name Canada, the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Colombia among leading origins. Spain, Italy, France and Brazil also appear in the authority’s breakdown.
A bill to keep the brand after Mulino
Mulino said the executive will send the National Assembly a bill protecting the identity. The stated aim is continuity beyond his own term, which runs to 2029.
This brand does not belong to a government, he said, it belongs to Panama and all Panamanians. He asked that it be kept away from political interests.
He also asked for patience. The country now has a duty to give the brand the time, consistency and continuity it needs, he said.
The planned law would set usage rules, licensing terms and an ambassador programme. No text had reached the assembly at the time of the launch.
Cruise passengers as supporting evidence
Cruise passenger movement through the national port system rose 21.6 percent in the first seven months of 2026. The count reached 488,567 embarking and disembarking passengers, against 401,608 a year earlier.
Two terminals handle that traffic, Colón 2000 on the Atlantic side and Amador on the Pacific side. Both work as ports of call and as home ports.
Ship calls rose to 143 from 119, a gain of 20.1 percent. Crew arrivals climbed 20.2 percent to 105,021, and transit passengers rose 10.2 percent.
The data come from the Autoridad Marítima de Panamá, the Panama Maritime Authority, and were reported in August 2026. Figures for January to May had shown a smaller rise of 15.6 percent.
Visitor and revenue figures behind the campaign
Panama received 3,004,266 international visitors in 2025, up 8.2 percent on 2024. ATP put tourism foreign exchange at 6,583.0 million balboas (US$6.58 billion).
The balboa is fixed at par with the United States dollar, and Panama circulates dollar notes. Balboa amounts and dollar amounts are therefore the same number.
Arrivals reached 1,755,998 in the first half of 2026, a rise of 17.4 percent on 2025. Hotel occupancy averaged 67.6 percent over those six months.
ATP counted 74 international congresses and conventions with 113,937 attendees in the same period. It valued their combined economic impact at about US$91.6 million.
What the Panama nation brand still has to prove
Panama’s visitor numbers were already climbing before the launch, not falling. ATP series show 2,509,513 visitors in 2023 and 2,775,405 in 2024.
So the Panama nation brand arrives on a rising trend rather than as a rescue. That will make credit for any future gain harder to assign.
Air links remain central, and Copa Airlines is the main carrier at the Tocumen hub. Its Panamá Stopover programme drew about 123,000 travellers in the first half of 2026.
No published figure yet shows what the campaign will spend on buying media abroad. Promtur has not released a market-by-market rollout calendar or a first-year advertising plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Panama’s new country brand called?
The Spanish original is Panamá, Anfitrión del Mundo. English releases render the Panama nation brand as Panama, Host of the World.
How much does the campaign cost, and who pays?
Promtur set aside US$6.5 million under a two-year contract. That covers research, design, creative work and deployment.
Did cruise traffic really rise 21.6 percent?
Yes, on national port system data for January to July 2026. Passenger movement reached 488,567, against 401,608 a year earlier.
Connected Coverage
Panama Tourism Record Hits 1.75M Visitors in H1 2026
ECLAC: Panama Canal Economy Still the Engine as Growth Seen at 4.4%
Sources
- www.tvn-2.com
- www.panamaamerica.com.pa
- www.panamaamerica.com.pa
- www.infobae.com
- www.prensa.com
- www.prensa.com
- destinopanama.com.pa
- destinopanama.com.pa
- www.atp.gob.pa
- www.atp.gob.pa
- www.atp.gob.pa
- www.laestrella.com.pa
- www.laestrella.com.pa
- www.telemetro.com
- www.promturpanama.com
- newsroompanama.com
- www.riotimesonline.com
- www.riotimesonline.com
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