Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Peru to be one of the top 10 world tourist destinations

Peru to be one of the top 10 world tourist destinations

Peru has the potential and resources to be ranked as one of the top 10 world tourist destinations, the Tourism vice minister Pablo López de Romaña said today. “We have all the necessary components, such as nature, culture, biodiversity, gastronomy and living culture”, he said. Tourism industry has been growing very fast but is not enough. In 2007, it increased 11 percent. Businessmen, regional and local governments, media and international cooperation agencies must work technically and coordinately so that Peru could be one of the top 10 world tourist destinations. Peru is interested in a well-complemented development of the tourism and no just in massive tourism. (ANDINA - click here to see article)


Tourism from Asia to Peru increases

Tourists from China and Japan is greatly increasing and will increase even more thanks to recent economic deals made by President Alan Gracia during his visit to Asia, affirmed the Andean country's Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Mercedes Araoz. Garcia was accompanied by Minister Araoz on his visit to Asia, during which she had a chance to meet with authorities representing Japan's tourism industry. Despite the progress made, there are still problems that are affecting tourism, for example, the unwillingness of airlines to make trips from Asia to Peru.

 | |

• Peru : Peru: Morning News Roundup - Friday May 9
• Photo of the day : Peru: Photo of the day - APEC delegates welcomed with parade
• Tech / Internet : America Movil signs deal with Apple Inc. - Claro Peru to release iPhone
• Lima : Peru: Student riot at San Marcos University leaves two officers injured
• Mining/Energy : La Arena sold to Rio Alto - Peru's tribal land protected from gas concessions

# Wait Just One Minute.... says :
26 March, 2008 [ 11:08 ]

Just a couple of minor details missing when saying "we have all the necessary components....". 
1. Intra-province transportation is Russian roulette with 1-2 buses per week crashing, driving off cliffs etc and killing dozens of passengers.
2. The #1 Peruvian destination, Cuzco, is also a huge tourist gamble with huelgas, manifistaciones, paros and general anarchy and chaos every 60 days.  We just saw this happen 2 weeks ago.  Roll the dice as to when it will happen again.
3. The other "wonders" in the provinces have little, if any, of the required infrastructure to support becoming one of the top 10 world destinations....such as 3 and 4 star hotel rooms, daily flights with IFR guidance, local professional operators (not informales) that can transport, feed and guide tourists.  And on, and on.....
Peru has great places to visit but it is still waaay behind as a full on destination outside of Cuzco -- and it has its own set of problems.

# AEE says :
26 March, 2008 [ 16:52 ]

I think the news and the response to it are unaccurate. The news shoud not say that we have ALL the necessary components, it should say we have the POTENTIAL and factors such as nature, culture, biodiversity, gastronomy and living culture are critical for the success of this endeavor. I don't think a bunch of 3-4 star hotels are enough to per se attract tourists. Transportation is a big issue more so if you are planning to use (to save a few bucks) the TEPSAS and alike. I personally use the bus from Arequipa to Puno and was really great. Social issues are everywhere (remember Toronto and the garbage issues 3 years ago, or the riots in Paris, or the mess in pre-olympic Greece or so much pollution that they have to cancel school days-Santiago, Shangai etc.).Finally, I travelled with my wife and 2 school children every year for the last 2 years to Peru and I found those vacations were extraordinary, first to Arequipa and Canon del Colca and second to Arequipa, Puno, Titicaca lake. I have to agree with the news that it was extraordinary because we saw nature, culture, biodiversity, gastronomy and living culture. I care less about the Colca Lodge.

# Wait Just One Minute.... says :
26 March, 2008 [ 18:07 ]

AEE: We will have to agree on some things and disagree on others.    We average 20 - 30 people per week killed in interprovincial bus service.  Bus passengers not only fear that the driver shows up drunk, falls asleep or keeps the accelerator full speed through a dense fog, they also have to fear bandits that stop the bus and rob and kill passengers.  Most sane foreign tourists may look at this as a deterrent.  The highways are awash in blood....the newspapers call it slaughter.  Zero tolerance hasn't worked.  Your visits have been lucky.  The 2,000 tourists who were stranded 3-4 days because the Cuzco airport was closed for civil disorder went home and told 50 others each that it was a disaster.  They certainly aren't telling their friends that the locals were quaint and we enjoyed the smell of burning tires and the sound of windshields being broken by rocks.  Where do you think those 100,000 potential Peru visitors will go?  When people spend $3K - $5K for a vacation, they demand predictability not chaos. 
And yes, you do need at least some 3-4 star hotels in these "wonder" locations.  Not every traveler wants "rustic" surroundings.  I have lived in Peru 9 years.  I have traveled extensively within Peru.  I have been to Puno, Lake Titicaca, Cajamarca, Paracas, Arequipa, Colca, Chachapoyas and more.  It is a wonderful place or I wouldn't stay.  But it is not yet ready to be in the top 10 destinations in the world.  Lots of basic stuff needs to happen. 

# Dio Uceda says :
27 March, 2008 [ 01:34 ]

I have been in Cuzco innumerable times and I have never witness anything like what the guy above comments. I have learned lately a lot about Peru not just by watching National Geographic which dedicates a lot of programs to Peru, considered as one of the places to visit before you die. It is probably the only country in South America that can offer a variety of attractions including the Peruvian cuisine.  Anybody can check in any American or European University library the large number of publications and studies dedicated to Peru. Peru is really an international wonder