Importancia de establecer un Observatorio de Turismo Sostenible para el desarrollo del turismo en Panamá.

Abstract

Tourism is considered an important activity for the economies of countries. This information will change the state of knowledge and help manage more efficiently, and enhance better results in the management of administration and decision-making; therefore, it is important to incorporate tourism observatories as a technological tool to measure and exploits touristic destinations in a region. Panama has had the endorsement of the UNWTO since 2018, for the installation of the 24th sustainable tourism observatory in the capital city. Before COVID-19, there are already 22 countries worldwide that visualized the need to manage updated, accurate and above all reliable information produced through the tool of a tourism conservatory; to achieve this project, the participation of the public, private and academic sectors is needed. The descriptive study will investigate how involved and informed these sectors are. The importance of this tool and if it is not considered useful for the development of new tourist destinations in Panama. The virtual survey method was used, applied through the Google Drive tool because of the pandemic and the confinement. We counted with the participation of 114 people from the higher education sector, teachers and students, public and private sector, and other associations. The results show that there is a significant interest on the part of the academia for this project to be carried out; however, there is a lack of greater participation and interest from other actors as well as a better dissemination of information and awareness to publicize the project and its importance as part of the International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatory INSTO.