Not bad for a country whose travel and tourism industry really only began in ernest in about 2000.

The tourism competitiveness report was first compiled in 2007, and measures the factors that make a country attractive for tourism-based investments.

“After a period of a severe economic crisis, the travel and tourism industry is starting to see positive signs of recovery, especially in the emerging markets of Latin America, Asia and especially China,” said World Economic Forum official Thea Chiesa.

According to the report, Switzerland, Germany and France are the nations that have environments that are most attractive for the development of the travel and tourism industry. Panama ranked in 56th place globally.

Panama is a very popular travel destination for North Americans and Europeans who enjoy outdoor adventure, beaches, mountain escapes, and cosmopolitan cities. It’s not surprising that Panama has ranked highly in a survey that measures environments that are most attractive for the development of the travel and tourism industry.

Our family and two friends from Bocas decided to go camping on Zapatilla Cay inside the Bastimentos Marine Park. We departed early Saturday morning from Bocas del Toro with excellent weather and only a few days past the full moon. The seas going out to Zapatilla were calm and clear. As we approached the two lone islands, we could see masts and found about eight sailboats anchored offshore.

We set up camp at the far end of Zapatilla One just on the lee side of the point. An excellent place with plenty of shade, a nice breeze thru the night and excellent views of both the moon rise that night and the sunrise the next morning.

There are not many places as accessible as Zapatilla Cay that can feel so utterly far from everything. And the waters are a perfect turquoise with fine, almost white sand.

Luna and 4 yr old JensenBlu made it all the way around the island during a beach hike, while William and I played frisbee, Zuul played in the sand and Linda enjoyed the spectacular view from our camp site.

Many tourists take a day tour with the boatmen for hire in Bocas del Toro, but to truly experience the Zapatilla Cays you simply must stay overnight. The sunset was beautiful with the sailboats serenely floating in the foreground, while the sunrise was absolutely incredible - so huge and quiet. The colours and light were truly amazing

Our real estate project here on Dolphin Bay is located only 40 min. away from this tropical paradise, so we have already made plans with our friends from town in Bocas del Toro to go back again next weekend.

In a word - excellent. The food is fresh and amazing and well priced for a tourist town like Bocas del Toro. Gringo’s definitely does Mexican food the right way - like eating at some Mexican grandma’s house… no canned ingredients, everything freshly prepared and excellent hospitality. The owner, Gary is very welcoming and friendly. The margaritas are exceptional (which is not an easy find here in Panama) and we will certainly be going to town more often, just to eat there.

We ordered the Stuffed Burrito and the Quesadillas along with two margaritas and were very satisfied with our lunch.

Gringo’s is located a block off the main drag of Bocas del Toro - head away from the water on the street that runs to the centre of the park. You’ll see their sign shortly after turning off main street. You can also look out for the Golden Grill on a corner lot on main street - turn there.

If you are looking for excellent food at a good price in Bocas del Toro, then Gringo’s restaurant is definitely the place to go.

Did I mention the fabulous margaritas?….

The numbers for the 11 months from January 2010 thru to October of 2010 are definitely up over 2009 - 12% up, with a total of 900,000 visitors. Not so hard considering… global crash battered 2009 had one of the lowest yearly visitor totals since tourism really kicked into a higher gear in the early 2000’s. Very exciting news and it means Panama is very much on travellers’ radar and the tourism industry here in Panama is on the rebound.

Hopefully the longer 180 day tourist visa (up from 90 days), along with the recently introduced tourist health insurance card offered free of charge to arriving visitors at the Tocumen Airport in Panama City will help to continue the year over year upward trend and add another 12% for 2011.

Also good news for 2011 is the $700,000 increase in Panama’s tourism budget, putting it at $48.4 million, up from $47.7 million in 2009. And the national government of Panama also negotiated two more deals with international carriers that started late last year to bring direct flights through Tame of Ecuador and Germany’s Condor.

Tame will have a frequency of six flights per week, excluding Saturdays and cover two routes a week: Monday, Wednesday and Friday made the trip from Quito to Panama, while on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays will fly from Guayaquil to Panama.

Even better was who we found there… after an extremely busy Christmas and New Year’s, the beaches around Bocas del Toro are ever more active with folks looking for a winter getaway. Excellent news for Panama’s tourism industry and certainly great news for Panama’s number one tourism destination - Bocas Del Toro. Pictures are worth a thousand words so let me show you this…

Panama’s national economy is forecast to lead the way in Latin America in 2011 and tourism is definitely returning to pre-crash levels. We found many Europeans, Latinos and North Americans visiting the Bocas del Toro area and filling the streets, restaurants and tour boats, both during Christmas time and during our day at Red Frog Beach..

There is even an uptick in real estate activity in Bocas del Toro and the wider country, but folks are indeed looking for value for money in land for sale in Bocas or turn key properties in and around the capital city of Panama. Our real estate project here on the shores of Dolphin Bay, Bocas del Toro certainly offer value. Oceanfront estate lots of 2 acres are going for $50,000 - After looking online and around the area, I have yet to find a better deal on titled oceanfront real estate in Bocas del Toro, or throughout Panama.

With 10,000 Americans retiring every day starting January 01 of this year, there should be even more folks looking for their escape hatch in the sun. With only three oceanfront lots left, they may want to come soon!

Our residential real estate project here on the shores of desirable Dolphin Bay, Bocas del Toro offers a great value for titled oceanfront real estate. Panama is very much on the move, with expected growth this year of between 6.3 and 6.9% - one of the highest in Latin America, so investing in your retirement here could prove to be the best thing you have ever done.

Titled real estate in Bocas del Toro is a safe, secure investment and since there is only so much oceanfront real estate, it’s value will always increase. There are many expats living in Bocas and throughout Panama, the national economy is growing faster than most developed countries and Panama affords a very stable government.

If you are looking for an economic or retirement escape hatch, Panama and Bocas del Toro, are sure bets. Just ask the thousands of smiling expats already living and investing in the region’s best retirement and investment climate.

Hello brain freeze!

The heady days of real estate listings not keeping up with demand in Bocas del Toro are long over, but there are still a steady stream of real estate buyers looking for and finding great deals under $150K. The 60 million plus boomers are still reaching retirement age and many are mortgage free, so even in a down market they are taking their equity and coming to Panama to retire and invest their golden years in oceanfront real estate to live the quiet life in a tropical paradise.

Panama City does have a supply surplus of condo and new home real estate, but as the Panamanian economy continues to outpace most of the rest of Latin America, the urban real estate market in Panama is finding buyers looking for good deals on condo and new home real estate as a number of multinationals bring executives and management teams in to establish regional headquarters in and around the city.

The reason real estate investors and retirees started considering Bocas del Toro and Panama in the first place some 5 - 7 years ago was the great prices on oceanfront real estate and those prices are fast returning, drawing out the real estate investment money that had been sitting on the sidelines.

The coming Panama tourism season will also help to feed the growing Panamanian economy, as tourist numbers continue to climb despite the wider financial slowdown.