The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2026
Panama's 'first snow park' delivered soap foam — ACODECO fined the organizer $15,000
Mar 2026: ACODECO fined 'Bar y Discoteca Una Flor' $15,000 — 'Panamá Snowland' promised falling snow and Christmas, delivered soap foam.
Bar y Discoteca Una Flor · 2026-03-23
What happened
The operator of 'Panamá Snowland', billed as 'the first snow park in Panama', ran the event in Panama City's Casco Antiguo over the 2025 holiday season, with entry fees of $18, $45 and $75 and activities scheduled from 23 December 2025 to 7 January 2026.
Instead of falling snow and Christmas activities, attendees got soap foam. The disconnect between the advertised snow park and the delivered foam produced more than 31 complaints to the consumer authority ACODECO. Of those, 27 were resolved and 4 remained in process; 27 families were refunded a total of $4,548.57, with $808.68 still in administrative resolution.
On 23 March 2026 ACODECO fined the economic agent 'Bar y Discoteca Una Flor' $15,000 for misleading advertising, citing Law 45 of 31 October 2007. The claim that this was a snow park was not verifiable against what was actually offered.
Why it happened
- The event was marketed as 'the first snow park in Panama' when the attraction delivered was soap foam, not snow.
- Entry fees of up to $75 and a holiday-season window raised expectations the venue could not meet.
- Over 31 complaints and a $4,500 refund bill documented the gap between the promise and the product.
The lesson
When the headline promise is a spectacle — snow at Christmas — and the product is soap foam, the fine is cheap compared with the trust burned and the refunds owed.
Aftermath
ACODECO imposed the $15,000 penalty under Law 45 and ordered refunds; four complaints remained in administrative process. The case became a cautionary tale for holiday pop-up events over-promising a seasonal experience.
Sources
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