Costa Rica, Panama hope to share tourists

If it’s Tuesday, it must be … Costa Rica?

Americans who travel to Europe for the first time often sample several countries in the same region over the course of a week or two. Now Costa Rica and Panama are encouraging travelers to visit more than one destination on the same trip to Central America.

Air Costa Rica and Air Panama have joined to open two new routes between the Costa Rican capital of San Jose and two popular destinations in Panama.

The flights, which began Jan. 6, will head to the tourist island of Bocas del Toro and the border city of David, a popular starting point for those exploring or simply traveling to northern Panama. They will run Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

“This agreement marks the beginning of a new tourism strategy between our neighboring countries,” the airlines said in a statement.

The new flights are part of a larger effort within Central America to encourage package tourism deals that include destinations in several countries.

In 2004, the latest figures available, 5.7 million people visited Central America, a 15 percent increase over 2003.