Tourism is one of the industries where the human factor is key to making it successful and profitable. Without proper management of tourist needs, it is difficult for tourism activity to grow in the country. For this reason, we have invited one of the most respected tourists guides in Panama, a professional who began his journey in this profession as a hobby doing hiking tours, camping or any activity related to nature. His passion for knowing the country in depth and offering the most profound experience to tourists led him to be Manager of Eco Tours, Marketing Director of Aventura Tours and even President of the Association of Tourist Guides of Panama from 2019 to August 8, 2024. Juan Antonio de la Guardia is passionate about Panama, and on this occasion, he sits down with The Visitor – El Visitante to talk about the importance of the tourist guide to achieve tourism development nationwide.
What is the current status of Tourism in Panama, and how is it shaping up for the medium-term future?
“As for the current status, I can tell you that the high season (November – April) between 2022 – 2023 and 2023-2024, all of us guides feel that it has been very good. However, we are currently in low season and I can tell you that I was in Casco Antiguo and was struck by the amount of people that were doing Tourism, we have not felt it like in other years, at least in Panama City. That gives us a lot of encouragement and hope that things are going well and that we will do better in the future. These advances that I have commented on, I am convinced, are the result of the international promotion of Panama.”
A tourist guide knows the tourist’s experience 100%. How can we use this information to achieve better strategies, experiences and tourism promotion in Panama?
“This question is very important and crucial, everyone talks about how we are the most important thing, that we are the ambassadors of Panama, etc. But still today we are not taken into account when find out what is happening. It’s a shame and it’s one of the things we’ve tried to do, especially when I was President of the National Association of Tourist Guides, we’ve achieved something, but in reality we’re still missing.
Our country strategy must be anchored to the Panama Canal, and we can have beautiful photos and videos of the beaches, the jungle, the mountains, however all countries have this, but what differentiates us is the Panama Canal, and through this marvel of engineering we can show everything else we have as a country.”
What tools does Panamanian tourist guides require today to be competitive with other countries that are ahead?
“I must reaffirm that Panama has outstanding tourist guides, we have guides who do tourist tours in Africa, there are guides who take tourists to climb mountain peaks full of snow. There are very good guides here, but yes, I will always agree that there is more training because it is true, in other countries the average guide is more qualified. Since I became president of the Association, the first thing we did was try to create at least one Certification Program and begin to develop guides that have between 6 to 8 months of preparation to be a tourist guide. Currently there are university courses that teach you some subjects such as history or geography that are necessary, but there are another series of tools that are not being given at the university level such as interpretation, storytelling, expression and problem solving. For example, learning ways to handle situations with difficult tourists or within the administrative mechanism. More than a guide, we are leaders of the experience that the tourist is having, and this also includes all the people who are part of the experiential chain from transportation to whoever offers the food during a tour”.
Photos courtesy: Juan Antonio de la Guardia.