Surfing in
Pedasi. Good anchor to attract tourism to Panama
In an
atmosphere of great brotherhood, the Pan American Surfing Championship came to
an end as Brazil was the champion team of the tournament. Panama shone with a
silver medal obtained in the men's open category with Jean Carlos “Oli”
González. More than 300 athletes gathered at the sports fair that lasted for a
week in the paradisiacal Venao beach in the Pacific, south of the Azuero
Peninsula.
Source: Excellencies
Panama (Armando Garza)
Pedasí, one of
the 8 destinations identified as a tourist region in the Master Plan for
Sustainable Tourism (PMTS), showed all its tourist potential this weekend with
the closing of the Pan American Surfing Championship, sponsored by the Tourism
Authority of Panama (ATP) , the launch of the whale watching season, and the
folklore that identifies this region of Azuero.
The
administrator of the ATP, Iván Eskildsen, closing the event, said that surfing
is considered a high priority sport to attract tourists and for this reason
investments are being made in Venao beach that generate hundreds of jobs in the
area.
He highlighted
that the Pan American Surfing generated the arrival of more than 500 visitors
between national and local tourists with 100% occupancy in local hotels and an
economic impact of nearly $2 million in Pedasí and surrounding districts.
Eskildsen
pointed out that the PMTS identifies Pedasí as one of the 8 priority tourist
destinations to attract tourists and for this reason the ATP develops and
manages several projects to consolidate Pedasí as a tourist site of interest
and tourists can enjoy its offer such as: surfing, snorkeling, sun and beach,
observation of marine fauna and birds, cultural and ethnic tourism,
agrotourism, sports tourism and sport and artisanal fishing.
Pedasí has
wave quality for surfing of different levels, climate drier than in other
parts of the country/ more hours of sunshine, travel time from Panama City,
Isla Iguana Wildlife Refuge, Isla Caña Wildlife Refuge ( community of PACTO,
ATP project). The community is very well organized and they offer turtle and
mangrove tours.
Eskildsen
mentioned that among the projects that are being carried out to consolidate the
tourist attraction of Pedasí is the visitor center, where tourists will get to
know the attractions of the place in an interactive way; the construction of
bike paths and sidewalks from the town center to El Arenal beach and El Toro
beach; construction of docks on El Arenal beach and on Iguana Island, as well
as the construction of public toilets on the island, which is a great
attraction of the place.
The
comprehensive solid waste project for the district is also being developed,
which is in the adjudication stage among the contractors who have already
submitted their bids.
The Tourist
Destination Management Committee (CGD) operates in the district, a
public-private alliance and the organized community to jointly improve works
for the benefit of tourism.
The ATP moved
a group of journalists from various national media to learn about the
experiences and tourist attractions of Pedasí and make disclosures in their
media, in order to attract national and international tourists to the place.
Whale
watching: the great experience
For whale
watching you have to go to El Arenal beach, one of the beautiful beaches in
Pedasí. Tourists must board a boat with a maximum capacity of six passengers.
In about 15
minutes, tour guides (boat captains) certified by the ATP and Mi Ambiente take
them to the site where the whales known as humpbacks nurse their young. The
huge mammals jump, spin around in the waves and with their peculiar noise expel
air through their spiracles.
The whale
watching season takes place every year from July to October, months in which
these mammals move from the South Pacific to the warm waters of the Panamanian
Pacific to mate and give birth to their young, without danger from predators. .
During this
time, the activity attracts hundreds of tourists per week, which represents an
economic impact for the residents of Pedasí and especially for the guides
certified by ATP and Mi Ambiente to drive the boats.
The head of
Tourism highlighted that Pedasí offers tourists the opportunity to be in
contact with nature and provide a transformative experience that is what
travelers are looking for.
Other
destinations to carry out this activity are the Archipelago of the Pearls,
Pacific Veragüense and the Gulf of Chiriquí.