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Peru: 70,000 tourists have arrived in Arequipa this year

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Approximately 70 thousand tourists have arrived in Arequipa since January 2009, a similar figure to the same period last year, reported Rocío Cervantes, manager Regional Foreign Trade and Tourism.

From all those visitors, 15,000 were Peruvian and 55,000 were foreigners, especially coming from the US and Europe.

The official said that these figures are important, and that they show how the global financial crisis has not affected the tourism sector in Arequipa.

Adding to this optimism, the high season is just starting and will last until August, and the tourists' arrivals are expected to grow by 18%.

Arequipa's most visited areas are the Colca Valley, the Historic Downtown and the countryside.

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# toruist geek says :
27 May, 2009 [ 07:31 ]

all tourists that have entered since Jan 1 2009  had allready bought n paid for their  tours before the Economic Cirsis had become frount page news,,, since most all tours are pre paid 5 to 6 months before arriving to Peru,,, that means the Eco Crisis was not a factor when the bought their packages, and that Jan to June mean nothing of what will come.  The impact of the Eco Crisis will start to be seen in Tourism in Peru 6 months after Jan 1 2009,,, oh my   thats allmost here...  so what happened in the first 6 months of 2009 really has nothing to do with what was going on with the outside worlds economic ups n downs.    
Nice to see that Arequipa Colca are getting an increase in numbers this year, it is well worth the visit to see the Condors and Misty.

# Indigo says :
31 May, 2009 [ 15:07 ]

That IS good news but there is a problem - visitors from abroad often don't return to Arequipa because of the serious pollution problem and they spread the news about this problem to their families and friends.

In conversations about my friend's visits to Peru, they have told me that Arequipa is a nightmare in the context of air quality which is a "scandal" because of the huge number of cars and buses that spew toxic black smoke into the environment.

Apparently, the Mayor has promised to do something about this but the word is from the locals that he is "bought off" by large commercial interests.

I've visited Peru many times but I have bypassed Arequipa and intend to continue doing so.

# Rene says :
1 June, 2009 [ 15:34 ]

Indigo, you must be confused with Lima, cause Arequipa is a beautiful little city that doesn't have much pollution. The traffic is way much less than in Lima and much more organised.

# Indigo says :
1 June, 2009 [ 17:12 ]

Rene, not onfused at all - the article is about Arequipa and my comment is about Arequipa.  I have friends who live there and they tell me the same thing - we meet up elsewhere because I prefer not to breathe in toxins from what they refer to as the "yellow plague" - those little yellow cabs called Ticus that are endemic to Arequipa - thousands and thousands and thousands of them.  In addition to the "yellow plague" are vans and buses that are ancient and spew black smoke all over the beautiful 16th-19th century sillar buildings in the historic centre as well as pedestrians, including the many young students studying downtown.  The last time I was in Arequipa these students organized a protest, demanding their right to study in a clean environment.   A related issue is that there is NO ozone layer left in Arequipa and all schools are required to have covered play areas because of the risk of skin cancer.

I very much regret to bring you this news but there it is and if you don't believe me, do your own research.

I've heard that the avenue along the river at the bottom of the hills up to the Historic Centre is being re-paved because, evidently, all these vehicles are to use it and not the lovely little streets in the UNESCO Heritage Site of downtown; by the way, UNESCO has been considering removing that designation according to my contacts in Arequipa.

Lima is another story and perhaps we can comment on it if an article appears about it here.

# Rene says :
1 June, 2009 [ 17:52 ]

I'm very curious where you live, since those thousands and thousands of yellow ticus are still nothing compared to all the cars, SUV's and trucks moving through any major city around the world. Sure, these cars in Peru need some cleaner technology and I do not recommend staying behind them for too long, nor living along the major trucking roads, as anywhere in the world, but the overall pollution of the city is still fair.

Unlike you I've actually visited the city myself a few times and I have seen nothing that concerned me, especially not if you're a tourist who'll stay only a few days anyway.

And about the ozone layer, the possible lack of it is not due to any particular local pollution, that is the consequence of the worldwide breakdown of the ozone layer. The UV radiation is also higher in Arequipa due to the fact that Arequipa is located at altitude. Cusco is even worse. If Arequipa does indeed require protection from UV, then that is only good. In Cusco the children are standing hours outside doing their daily drills without any protection. But I think wearing a proper hat, like in Australia, would suffice...

# Homer says :
11 October, 2009 [ 03:44 ]

I have visited Arequipa many times for more than six years, and I can say without a doubt that Indigo is indeed badly mistaken.  I would live there today if I could find a job in my field of work.

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