Living in Peru : your everyday companion

About 2.1 million foreign tourists are to visit Peru this year, a 10 percent increase compared to 2007, the National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur) said today.

Canatur president Eduardo Arrarte said the current U.S. financial crisis will not affect the country's tourism growth; although the number of U.S. tourists has begun to drop, but it has been offset by the increased inflow of tourists from Latin America, Europe and Asia.

In that regard, he noted the importance to tourism international summits such as the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean (EU-LAC) Summit held last May in Lima and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings held throughout the year across the country.

Arrarte mentioned that in the first six months of 2008, tourist arrivals increased 13 percent compared to the same period last year.

He also stressed the need for coordinated work between local and regional authorities to join efforts and improve existing tourism infrastructure and facilities and thus maintain growth rates exceeding 10 percent annually.

News source: ANDINA