Market Apocalypse Left You Dazed?

Duck for Cover in the
“Singapore of the Americas”
Where You Can Invest Safely in a Thriving Economy … and Shelter Your Nest Egg
Outside the U.S.

Panama Profit Expedition

April 10-17, 2010

Dear Reader,

Reading the financial headlines may be depressing these days. But reading your financial statements can be downright harrowing.

And humbling, too. It’s hard to know where to go. And it feels like the safe (and profitable) investment options dwindle every day.

But that’s really only true at home. Lift your eyes to look beyond our borders … and suddenly things don’t appear so grim.

In fact, in a handful of places, they’re remarkably bright. And the smart money knows it.

One shining beacon sits just two hours from the States in the “Singapore of the Americas” -- Panama. If you’re looking to duck for cover, you couldn’t find a healthier, more welcoming sanctuary.

• Panama’s dollar-based economy is thriving. And with the greenback as the local currency, business transactions here are easy.
• This country is the most sophisticated offshore haven in the Americas, with titanium-strength bank-privacy laws.
• It boasts some of the best-value beachfront in the region on both its Caribbean and Pacific Coasts. (An hour from Panama City, you can have a luxury condo on the beach for less than $162,000.)
• You’ll find exclusive tropical island properties with breathtaking beaches in a no-hurricane zone … for well less than you’d pay elsewhere nearby. (A stone’s throw from the “playground of the wealthy” -- and just as pretty -- you can own your own island escape for as little as $13/square foot.)
• There’s a strong appetite for apartments and condos in vibrant, first-world Panama City. (Even Donald Trump is on this train with his Trump Ocean Club high rise.)
• The nation’s highlands offer spring-like weather year-round and gorgeous lots and homes … where you can live like royalty on a secretary’s budget.
• The quality of healthcare is exceptional (many physicians are U.S.-trained) … and costs a small fraction of what it would at home.
• Plus Panama’s retiree benefits are some of the best in the world. They include easy residency rules and discounts on everything from in-country travel to duty-free import of your household goods.

Those are just some of the reasons why we’re headed to Panama for a very special first class, insider’s introduction to this country. I’d like to invite you to join us …

This Trip Offers the Ideal Mix of Business and Pleasure

You can expect the perfect mix of business and pleasure. We’ll introduce you to the best opportunities on offer for real estate investment and retirement living … and to our reliable, well-informed contacts on the ground. That way you’re sure to understand the smartest, most-efficient way to take advantage of anything that may interest you.

I guarantee you’ll be impressed with the many compelling possibilities for profitable investing and good-value living -- from exclusive beachfront in the Pearl Islands … … to mountain retreats … to sandy oceanfront along the mainland coasts …

We’ll show you places that make smart sense purely as investment plays … to spots where the investment is sound, certainly … but where, in addition, the lifestyle, views, and good-value living might well lure you to stay a few months or weeks a year … maybe even full-time …

Of course, you’ll also have plenty of time on this trip to relax … bury your feet in the white sand on a palm-lined beach … hike in the verdant hills where violet-capped hummingbirds flit … tour the rainforest canopy … or simply head to the spa.

On this trip, we’ll help you discover this country for yourself … in a way you never could on your own.

Panama is Beautiful … Bountiful … and Booming

You’ll be wowed by what a beautiful -- and bountiful -- country Panama is. As Lonely Planet puts it, “ … you'll find it hard to shake the inescapable feeling that you're in on a secret the rest of the traveling world has yet to discover.”

From its lush interior, where coffee grows on hills that rise to cloud forests, rivers rush, and flowers bloom with abandon … to its talcum-white, palm-lined beaches where you can luxuriate and relax at the water’s edge … you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

They don’t refer to this country as “the Next Costa Rica” for nothing. It’s an eco-traveler’s paradise.

It’s also a study in contrasts. Panama boasts extraordinary biodiversity (including more than 930 species of birds – more than just about any other place on the planet). And it’s culturally diverse and interesting, too. (The Kuna Indians, for instance, maintain their very traditional way of life, farming coconuts and fishing from dugout canoes.)

Yet Panama City is a vibrant, modern commercial and banking hub. It’s a city of sky-scrapers. A genuinely First-World metropolis that really works. In fact, it works so well that businesses are flocking there -- among them Dell, Hewlett Packard, General Electric, Proctor & Gamble, Caterpillar and the United Nations -- all of whom have decided to make Panama their regional headquarters.

I’ll tell you more about all of that in a minute.

But first, let me introduce our on-the-ground guides for this expedition as well as some of the specific things we’ll see and do …

Our Guide on the Ground is
Experienced and Well-Connected

We’re working hand-in-hand with real estate consultant Gail Geerling of Frontier Properties. Gail, who has lived in Central America for a decade, was formerly International Living’s Nicaragua Office Director and managed the upscale Rancho Santana development on Nicaragua’s Pacific Coast.

She knows this market in Panama inside and out, and so with her as your guide, you’re guaranteed to see the best properties on offer, get all your questions answered, learn the ins and outs of the buying process, and meet the most reliable people on the ground.

During this program we’ll introduce you to opportunities like …

• Panama City apartment and condo deals. With so much new enterprise and so many retirees headed to Panama, the city is booming. Demand for apartments is outstripping supply. We’ll show you how (and when) you can turn this to your advantage … to make money on short-term and long-term rentals. Or, if you prefer, snag your own big city retreat to enjoy a few months a year or maybe even full-time.
• The Pearl Islands – postcard-perfect with fine white, palm-lined beaches – are Panama’s emerging hot spot. The island of Contadora is where the local elite retreat (The Hampton’s of Panama). We’ll see it for ourselves. But also -- just next door, only five minutes away -- we’ll introduce you to an island that’s just as glorious … but where you can own a swath of land for one-third the price (as little as $13 a square foot)!
• Highland retreats where the air is spring-like year-round, exotic birds nest in the trees, the pace is quiet, and the crowds have yet to settle in. While the community of Boquete is a well-established retreat for retirees … the very best values there have faded. Yet just as attractive are places like El Valle and Coronado, just beginning to be discovered … where you’ll pay as little as $7 a square foot for a lot where you could build your dream home.
• Oceanfront on the mainland where you could have an apartment with a view an hour’s drive on good roads from Panama City. In this area, you’re not only near the water, but near great golfing, too. Here, close to the beach, you can own a lovely Spanish colonial-style home with three-bedrooms, a pool with cascading waterfall, and an inviting garden with banana and mango trees terrace for just $259,000.

Expect First-Class Pampering …
from Beachfront Hideaways to a Rainforest Resort

In Panama City we’ll be based at the sophisticated Intercontinental Miramar Hotel, an elegant property in the heart of the financial center.

There we’ll host a seminar to give you the lay of the land and a comfortable sense for the investment climate in Panama.

We’ll spend a day exploring the city, including the old quarter, Casco Viejo, which the New York Times recently predicted will be “a kind of South Beach-style hotbed of cafes, hotels and nightclubs.” (It’s not too late to ride this wave … we’ll show you how.)

We’ll go by the striking Frank Gehry-designed Museum of Biodiversity, which is, in fact, not yet open to the public. But we’ve got a VIP pass to get you inside. And you’ll hear from the director, Professor Anthony Coates of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. The museum is visible from ships passing through the canal… and it’s quickly becoming Panama’s equivalent to the Sydney Opera House – an enduring symbol of the city.

Of course, you couldn’t come to Panama and not see the canal. So we’ll dine near the Miraflores Locks one afternoon, where we’re sure to catch ships passing through …

Up-Close-and-Personal with Sea Turtles, Parrots, and Monkeys

We’ll spend two nights at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort along the banks of the Chagres River. Here there’s an aerial tram that can take you, with a guide, through the forest canopy. This is one of the best bird-watching spots in the world – a must-do. You’ll see extraordinary bursts of color, like Blue Cotingas, Green Shrike-Vireos, and Yellow billed Tucans. And you just may spot some monkeys up there, too. Of course, you always have the option of retreating to the spa.

We’ll head to the Pearl Islands during this expedition as well … a bastion of white sand and lush foliage in a turquoise sea. A collection of islands that look like quintessential Caribbean postcards.

We’ll have a chance to explore a lovely, good-value mountain community, too. In El Valle the weather is spring-like year-round and the fertile soil sprouts mounds of blossoms.

A resort area near Coronado is on our itinerary as well. This region is close to Panama City and a popular – and pretty – beach retreat where your dollars really stretch.

Of course, we’ve set up this program so you’ll see real estate all along the way. But we’ll only show you the opportunities that make the most sense. And if you decide one day you’d prefer to sit back and relax, that’s fine, too. As I said before, you can expect a good balance between business and pleasure … and a truly pampered trip.

An exciting one, too. Because there’s an energy -- a sense of possibility -- about Panama that’s contagious. Here’s why …

The end of the American Century …
and the Beginning of Panama’s

Last year Panama’s annual GDP growth was an astonishing 11.2%. The year prior, a lively 8.1%. And the trend shows no signs of slowing. (Compare it to the anemic 2.2% GDP growth the U.S. posted in 2007 … and dwell for just an instant our current state of affairs … and you get a sense for the possibilities.)

Investment is pouring into Panama – from the States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. And that diversity is good. Because it means that even though the country uses the U.S. dollar as its currency (which is convenient for investors) it is not dependent on the U.S. for its prosperity.

Construction is driving the boom in Panama City, where cranes dominate the skyline today – reminiscent of Berlin when the wall came down. There are more than 400 projects either already underway or in the works. Expansion of the Panama Canal -- a project that will double its capacity -- is further bolstering the economic growth.

Plus this country is home to the second-largest free trade zone in the world – the biggest in the Americas. Every month, new businesses are flocking to Panama.

Excellent Banking Privacy and Offshore Services

In addition, this country offers Swiss-quality financial services at a fraction of the cost. More than 130 banks operate here. And with an account in Panama, you open the door to investments in top-performing foreign stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and currencies not available in the U.S.

Here you can create trusts, corporations, foundations, holding companies – completely legally, largely tax-free, and affordably, too.

Panama Offers the World’s Best Retiree
Discount and Incentive Program

If you come to Panama as a retiree, you can take advantage of this country’s Pensioner Visa program, which makes it easy to live well on a budget.

That’s because it allows you to take 50% off entertainment anywhere in the country, 30% off bus, boat, and train fares, 25% off airline tickets, 15% off hospital bills, 20% off doctor’s visits, 25% off your electricity bill, 50% off closing costs for home loans … and more …

You can bring you household goods in duty-free. And you won’t pay tax on the car you import or buy locally, either.

Affordable, First World Living for a Fraction
of What it Costs Back Home

And Panama is just, plain affordable, too. It’s not just the real estate that’s easy on the pocket book.

Here you can see a first run movie for less than $3 … or eat a good lunch out for $5. You can live well (including a maid to help out a day or two a week) for less than $1,500 a month.

And excellent-quality medical care here typically costs about half what you’d pay up north. (The Punta Pacifica Hospital in Panama City is associated with Johns Hopkins and lots of doctors here were trained in the States.)

Need a new hip? In the U.S. it costs $20,000. In Panama? $12,000. Cataract Surgery? $5,000-$6,000 up north … $2,500 in Panama.

You can buy private health insurance for much less than it costs in the States. And the prices for prescription drugs are lower, too, since manufacturers price them for the market. Not only that, but many drugs that require a prescription in the States you can buy over-the-counter in Panama.

The Most Efficient, Enjoyable, Cost-Effective Way to Discover Panama as You Never Could on Your Own

Whether you’re interested in diversifying and sheltering your nest egg outside the U.S. markets … looking for a welcoming, good-value place you can spend a few weeks or months a year … or maybe even trolling for a full-time escape …

This program is the most efficient, enjoyable way to make it happen.

Plus I can guarantee you a relaxing, satisfying escape as well. A real vacation of the sort you’ll be talking about for years. You can expect insider access, VIP treatment, luxurious comforts, and good company, too. That’s what we’re known for. And our past attendees join us again and again for exactly those reasons.

Given the current economic crisis at home, I suspect our limited number of seats will fill up even more quickly than I’d expected.

This isn’t any sort of cattle-car trip. We won’t be herding people around. We have room for just 18 all told.

So if you’d like me to reserve a place for you (and perhaps a companion as well) … simply shoot me a quick email at info@opptravel.comand I’ll get right back to you.

Or pick up the phone and call us here toll-free at 1-800-926-6575 ext. 105 or direct at 1-561-243-6276 ext. 105.

We look forward to discovering this vibrant, opportunity-rich nation with you. I do hope you’ll join us.

Warmly,

Barbara Perriello
Director, Opportunity Travel

P.S. We have various discounts available for our past tour-goers and for VIP members of Agora’s publications. Naturally, this being a value-seekers’ expedition, we’ll arrange the very best deal available for you.

P.P.S. Read on below for a day-by-day itinerary and reservation details …