Many of you have heard that during the pandemic pause, I studied the Economic Nutrition label that Shorefast Fogo Island uses for its social enterprises. In an article entitled "5 Regenerative Solutions For A Positive Future Through Tourism," where Regenerative Travel summarized takeaways from its 2020 Regenerative Travel Summit, Zita Cobb from Shorefast championed radical transparency so that "we can avoid all of the greenwashing and the social washing and the marginalizing of local people, because it's not dignified for local people, and it's not dignified for the visitors."⁣
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Her stance, and our studies of our own business, caused us to review our economic impact. What Shorefast has done and what companies such as Everlane are doing in a retail environment is give the consumer more information about where their money is going. We want to do the same.⁣
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Thus we looked back at our impact for 2019 since it was a "normal" year. We hadn't set up our accounting to manage the information as well as we could, but it was the best we could do then. In 2020 we updated our Chart of Accounts and our regular accounting to provide better information in the future.⁣

We have completed our analysis and annual metrics for 2022. This year will be our baseline for further years as the information comes from our updated Chart of Accounts, and our occupancy was approaching normal.

Economic Benefit Distribution is a measure of all expenditures made by Tranquilo Bay. Our instance includes Labor & Benefits, purchases from businesses and people within various distances from Tranquilo Bay within Panama, and those expenses completed outside of Panama. ⁣
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Once the number is calculated based on the data within each category, we review it as a percentage of the total company expense.⁣
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66% of our 2022 expenditures are within the archipelago and province of Bocas del Toro. An incremental 12% is within 100 KM of the lodge, so 78% of our 2022 expenses are made within 100 KM. We spend about 5% of our total expenditure within Panama, but outside of this 100 KM radius which takes all of our spending within Panama to 83%.⁣
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So 17% of the funds are paid to businesses and people outside Panama. We do not drill down into specific items as to whether or not they are manufactured within Panama, only from whom we purchase them. We believe our external expense increased substantially due to consolidating several years worth of buying into one after the pandemic.

Community Dollar Flow measures all funds that flow into a community because of a particular company. Our instance includes Labor & Benefits, purchases from businesses and people within a 100 KM distance from Tranquilo Bay, gratuities left for staff, donations made within a 100 KM distance from Tranquilo Bay, volunteer hours provided within 100 KM distance from Tranquilo Bay and ITBMS paid by guests in a given month. Once the number is calculated based on the data within each category, we format it as a percentage of the total company expense.

It can exceed 100% of company expenses within the direct community because the inputs are broader. We are not there yet but we can continue to aspire for improvement.

This photograph is a graphic example of Community Dollar Flow. ⁣
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1. Labor and benefits paid to or on behalf of our staff.⁣
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2. Purchases from people and businesses within 100 KM of Tranquilo Bay. Purchases include goods and services; a local tour, transportation, and food vendor would all be within this category.⁣
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3. Gratuities left for our staff outside of our guides. Our guide tips tend to be direct, and we do not account entirely for these amounts.⁣ Beginning in 2022, we also include the guide tips as appropriate.
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4. Donations, either in cash or in-kind, made by Tranquilo Bay or our guests within 100 KM of Tranquilo Bay.⁣
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5. Volunteer hours provided by lodge ownership, staff, or guests within 100 KM of Tranquilo Bay. These hours are accounted for at local labor or consulting levels as they are all provided in kind.⁣

7. ITBMS paid by guests to the country of Panama based upon the guest's stay in Bocas del Toro. This amount is on a month lag as we pay for January's ITBMS in February. Thus, we use the amount paid into the economy.
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Considering the total of each category, for 2022, 99% of our expense level flows directly into the community within 100 KM of Tranquilo Bay. This amount differs from 83% of our direct expenses within Panama. We have also added categories three through seven, which are contributions to the community yet are not a direct expense to the company.⁣