The Advocate
Registration has started for the GNO Inc./Baton Rouge Area Chamber-sponsored trip to Panama.
The trip will be Sept. 20-23. Up to 90 business leaders from New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Houma-Thibodaux are expected to attend.
This will be the two organizations’ first international canvass trip, with stops in Panama City and Colon.
GNO and BRAC have collaborated on trips to Tampa-Orlando, Florida, and Phoenix-Tuscon, Arizona, to learn about those regional economies.
Michael Hecht, president and chief executive officer of GNO Inc., told the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge last fall there were natural connections between south Louisiana and Panama, including direct flights between New Orleans and Panama City.
While Panama City is a cosmopolitan region in the southern part of the country, Colon is an industrial free-trade zone in the northern part. Along with visiting both cities, the trip will stop at the Panama Canal, the Panama Railway, the University of Panama and Panama Pacifico, one of the largest mixed-use redevelopment projects in the world. The cost of the trip is $2,300 per guest. Details are at gnoinc.org.