By Carley Rojas Ávila,Contributor,The World

Copyright forbes

From its base in Panama City, Panama, Copa Airlines offers passengers the unique chance to extend their trip with its Panama Stopover Program.
Copa Airlines

If your Instagram feed is anything like mine these days, it probably feels like everyone is traveling to Iceland. Sure, this volcanic island in the heart of the Atlantic brims with black sand beaches and soaring waterfalls studded with shards of ice in winter. But Iceland’s surging popularity is thanks to more than its natural beauty: it has been driven in large part by Icelandair’s innovative stopover program that promises travelers a few extra days of vacation as they fly between North America and Europe.

The rousing success of Iceland’s program hasn’t gone unnoticed. Now, the award-winning Copa Airlines is employing the same style of program, with success, in its own stopover program, with the hopes of spurring tourism in a lesser-visited Central American destination that is brimming with still-untapped travel potential: Panama.

Casco Antiguo is the historic heart of Panama City, Panama, and increasingly the place to be in the growing city.
Copa Airlines

Panama, Hub of the Americas

Perched at the meeting point of the two American continents, its famous canal lending it global-level importance, Panama has carved out a unique position for itself amidst its Central American neighbors. With a skyscraper-studded skyline that bares a striking resemblance to Miami, Panama City is considered one of the region’s most important financial centers.

Buoyed by big-name business growth and the presence of some of Latin America’s most important companies, Panama hasn’t needed to focus much on tourism. But that doesn’t mean the potential hasn’t been there.

After years of drawing business travelers from across the world, one of Panama’s greatest assets when it comes to developing its tourist potential comes from its unmatched air connectivity. Copa Airlines, Panama’s flag carrier established in 1947, serves an impressive 17 gateway cities in the United States, recently having expanded to San Diego. In total, the airline now reaches 86 different destinations in 32 countries across the Americas and the Caribbean. Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport is so well connected, it’s known as the Hub of the Americas.

“A better-connected country translates to opportunities for everyone, motivating [Copa Airlines] to expand routes and frequencies to generate more jobs, foster economic growth, and increase tourism,” expressed Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa Airlines, in a press release. Connectivity certainly isn’t a problem when it comes to putting Panama on the map with travelers, but with the Panama Stopover Program, Copa Airlines is betting it might be the solution.

Located on Panama’s Caribbean coast, the pristine, protected islands of Bocas del Toro are one of Panama’s most popular, if still lesser-visited, destinations for travelers.
Copa Airlines

From Stopover to Stay

Copa Airlines first launched its Panama Stopover Program in partnership with with the Panama Tourism Authority and PROMTUR Panamá in 2019, but it has seen a huge surge of growth in recent years.

“The program allows passengers transiting through Tocumen International Airport to spend up to seven days in Panama at no additional airfare cost, [providing] a unique opportunity to explore the country, all while continuing their travels across Latin America and the Caribbean,” said a Copa representative in a statement explaining the program’s logistics.

Though Copa Airlines has had a number of different promotional campaigns to bolster its Panama Stopover since rolling it out, the ethos has remained much the same: this is a chance for travelers to have a vacation within a vacation. Drawn by both the money-saving opportunity and sheer adventure of such a proposal, travelers have responded even better than expected.

In 2024, nearly 160,000 tourists took advantage of the program, almost 25% more than what was originally projected at the program’s rollout. Just in the first half of 2025, the program has served 95,000 passengers, exceeding the previous year’s record by 18%. For a country with a still-growing tourism industry, Panama Stopover travelers represented 8% of all foreign visitors last year, an astounding impact from a program that, on its face, feels relatively simple.

Finca Lérida in Boquete, Panama grows Geisha coffee, arguably the world’s most esteemed coffee.
Cayuga Collection

For a quick stopover of just a day or two, Panama City bursts with cool places to eat, stay and play. For several years, the city has invested significantly in restoring the Casco Antiguo, its UNESCO-protected historical center, into one of the region’s coolest neighborhoods. New luxury hotels like Hotel La Compañía and Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo have cropped up inside centuries-old buildings to welcome visitors.

Panama City’s culinary scene has seen immense growth in the past decade as well. The city even boasts restaurants lauded by The World’s 50 Best as among some of thebest in Latin America, like Maito and Cantina del Tigre, with bars like Mai Mai appearing on the World’s 50 Best Discovery list.

However, Panama City is really just the start. In Bocas del Toro on the country’s Caribbean coast, visitors can find overwater bungalows perched above crystal clear waters. In Boquete, travelers can cozy up at misty mountain escapes like Finca Lérida, an eco-luxe hotel that just so happens to produce some of the the world’s most prized coffee.

Panama City’s combination of modernity and history, along with its unparalleled connectivity to the rest of the region, makes it one of the most attractive destinations in Latin America.
Copa Airlines

Impact in Panama

As the impact of the Panama Stopover program continues to grow, Copa Airlines and the company’s tourism counterparts have developed a strong cross promotional network that makes it much easier for travelers to plan their trip. Stopover travelers can now expect steep discounts at many of the country’s most coveted hotels and restaurants and well as promotions on experiences, from cupping Geisha coffee with renowned baristas to rooftop salsa lessons and, you guessed it, VIP visits to the Panama Canal.

The impact of the Panama Stopover program has far exceeded what Copa Airlines initially dreamed to be possible. Now, as stopover travelers return home with a piece of Panama under their belts, they only need to ask when they’ll make their stopover their final destination.

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