three-month tourist visa

Hola necesitas pasaje de ida y vuelta, no necesitas visa de turista y puedes prorrogarla por 90 días, saludos.....

hi vinnie62! Welcome on board expat-blog.

To be on the safe side, I'd suggest booking a return ticket as the authorities might question the reason for you purchasing a one-way ticket when you're on a tourist visa.

Maybe members living in Panama could provide you with a more well-informed response.

@ panamavisas: hey there, this being the English forum, please make sure all your posts are in English. Cheers!

We moved here in September and had to have a pre-booked flight out of the country within 90 days. You don't have to return to the place of origin, just somewhere out of Panama.  We just returned back to Panama from visiting California and when we booked the trip to come back to Panama, we were required again to book a flight out of Panama. 
We applied for residency in Sept. but in Nov., they granted amnesty to the Colombians and have been told that our paperwork is piled on a desk.  With that said, my police record and marriage certificate that we were required to have are expired and I was told that I would have to re-submit.  I'm tired of the red tape and think that I will just take a short trip somewhere every 90 days.  You are only required to leave the country for 72 hours so we may as well take advantage of the many Caribbean islands that are so close and visit them.  From what I understand of the Expats living here, most leave the country every 3 months anyway so I don't think it will become an issue.  Shoot, Costa Rica is only a few hours away.  Hope this helps.

This is where I get confused and frustrated. The Panama embassy here in my city (Ottawa, Canada) told me very clearly that all you need is a passport that is good for at least six months and you're good to go for six months - then at the end of six months, you have to leave the country for at least 72 hours - I specifically asked about whether a return airline ticket would be required and the answer was no - are you saying airport officials demanded to see a return ticket? I don't get that, because what if you don't KNOW where you'll be going at the end of your 90 days? You said yourself that you don't have to return to the place of origin, as long as you leave the country. You see why I'm befuddled.

I wasn't required to show anything at the airport but was told that we had to have a return flight.  I think you are okay booking a one-way ticket but just know that if you go over the allowed time (may be longer for Canadians than U.S.) they won't allow you back into the country.  At least, that is what we were told. 
This last trip back to Panama, we used one airline to get here and another to return so it wasn't required to book with the same airline.

Ah, ok - so just to be clear: no one in Panama ASKED to see a return flight ticket, correct?

correct.  They just asked for the usual ... passport.  Good luck.