Living in Peru : your everyday companion

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Due to the remarkable growth of tourism in Arequipa, the investment in hotel infrastructure amounted to US $30 million dollars in the last 3 years, according to José Carlos Cuentas–Zavala Rondón, Executive Director of the Program for Competition, Innovation and Development.

He said that the decision of investing in the hotels sector is due to the increasing demand, since the number of foreign and domestic tourists has significantly grown.

The three and four star hotels were the ones that caught more private investment in the city of Arequipa, as well as the accommodations in the Colca Valley, which in recent years has become an area with a large tourist appeal.

The international events that take place in the White City have also contributed to this boom.

Seasonal tourism (summer) towards the beaches of Camaná and Islay is another area that has grown by 20%.

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Andina

Authorities in the southern Peruvian region of Arequipa and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECI) have launched a community-based rural tourism project in the Andean town of Pinchollo, located in the spectacular Colca Valley.

Seven houses will be renovated to accommodate Peruvian and foreign tourists so that they can discover first-hand the local culture and ancient Andean customs.

Pinchollo resident Eloy Cacya said that the promotion of community-based rural tourism is an important alternative for the development of his town, whose total population lives on agriculture.

Cacya said local authorities want to implement the successful community-based tourism project of the town of Sibayo, which is also located in Arequipa’s Colca Valley.

“We want to promote this kind of tourism in Pinchollo for the benefit of our people and to show its natural beauty and archaeological sites," he said.

Although the houses will be ready to receive tourists by the end of the year, locals are already promoting tourism to Pinchollo, which is visited by five to seven tourists a day.

San Sebastian de Pinchollo is a little village located in the Colca Canyon, between Chivay and the "Cruz del Condor" in Caylloma province, Arequipa.

The 17th-century San Sebastián church in Pinchollo is a tourist attraction worth visiting, with a baroque altar and a baptismal area with an elaborately painted entrance.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

The new company operating Cusco-Machu Picchu route offers an equivalent service to its competitor at a price of US $40 dollars, which is 33% cheaper, announced the president of Inca Rail Peru, Juan Alberto Forsyth, via RadioProgramas del Peru.

Now there are three frequencies that compete on a regular basis; the cut in the cost of tickets is one of the great benefits.

"Our prices, compared to equivalent services in similar schedules currently offered by the monopoly operator, are 33% lower, so now people can buy for US $40 the tickets that used to cost US $60,” said Forsyth.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

The Provincial Municipality of Trujillo has started a new touristic program, that aims to guide, free of charge, domestic and foreign tourists as well who wish to know the historical center of the city, which is the capital city of La Libertad region.

So, in this regard, three modules were placed strategically in several spots in the Plaza de Armas, the El Recreo square and the church of La Merced, where specialized staff can provide tourist information, and conduct also free tours for the visitors.

Martha Novoa, a representative from the Sub-Department of Tourism, said that this program aims to provide reliable, high- quality information, so that tourists can get to know the true story of Trujillo.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Peru's Hotels Society (SHP) will support the Cusco Andean Communities and also will promote community-based tourism programs, said its General Manager, Tibisay Monsalve Restrepo.

According to a SHP press release, Ms. Monsalve visited four communities in Chinchero, Lamay Urubamba and Pisac, which live mostly on agriculture and handicraft, but have also expressed an interest in starting community-based tourism activities.

Monsalve said that SHP will provide support, tools, technical assistance and training to improve the communities' products, so that their products can meet the standards required to become suppliers of the five-star hotels or boutiques.

Monsalve said that this work will benefit the communities and the hotel industry as well.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

The president of Peru Hotels Society (SHP), José Koechlin, said that domestic tourism should be the base of receptive tourism.

During the inauguration of the first Workshop "The Best of Peru," he said that domestic tourism needs to be built in Peru, and that the purchasing power of Peruvians has doubled in the last six years.

"This means that the domestic tourism offer has to respond to the increasing quality of life among Peruvians," Koechlin said, pointing out at the fact that now more Peruvian tourists are able to luxury hotels' fees.

However, there are also many packaged-tourist offers for all socioeconomic segments of the country.

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According to El Comercio, the negotiations began in April of 2009. Inversiones Castelar, the operator of the commercial center Sur Plaza Boulevard (SPB) in the beach resort Asia, acquired in September of this year the license for the Spanish franchise París Dakart, which specializes in Go-Karts. Inversiones Castelar will invest close to US$1.5 million in the project.

“We hope that out of the two million visitors that we expect to have during the 2009 to 2010 season, at least 20% will use the Go-Karts,” says the commercial manager of SPB Diego Prado. The project takes up 20,000m2, and will be known as the Circuito Movistar. It is already under construction, and will open during the first week of December, with at least 30 karts to be brought from France.

There will also be a Sports Bar with conference rooms on the first floor, and a restaurant and other attractions on the second floor. This is one of the first projects that SPB has begun, after they have worked with a consulting group to improve their numbers during the early spring and winter months.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Peruvian airport concessionaire Aeropuertos del Perú (ADP) submitted a project to expand Pisco airport (Ica region) to Peru's Transports and Communications Ministry, in accordance with Peru's legal regulations.

The project, that implies an investment of US $45 million, will be under evaluation, but the Minister Enrique Cornejo said he expects to have it approved by December.

This project, which considers building a new terminal and additional buildings, will turn Pisco Airport into an alternative airport for low-cost flights.

A better airport would help boost Pisco's development, as it would increase commercial and tourist activity.

The new terminal could start operating by 2012, when a Lima-Pisco highway is expected to be ready, too.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

According to Peru.com,  luxury tourism is still booming in Peru despite the international financial crisis, and the average daily per capita expenditure reaches up to $1,000.

Quoting Martín Pérez, Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, the average daily per capita expenditure in this group of tourists has increased by 40% during the last five years.

"These tourists usually stay between three or seven days, and they spend almost US $1,000 per day in lodging, meals and transportation," he said.

The main destination for these tourists is at present Machu Picchu (Cusco), followed by the Sacred Valley and Sacsayhuamán.

Another destinations with luxury tourism are Lima, Arequipa, Puno and Nazca.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Junin's Regional Directorate of Foreign Trade and Tourism reported that it is planning to invest more than 11 million soles by the year 2010 in the enhancement of Yanamarca's Valley archaeological and cultural heritage, and in the recovery of the historic area of the province of Jauja.

Silvia Salas Alvarado, the Director, said that these projects, whose implementation is supposed to last three years, aim to increase tourism in the region, and to improve the quality of life of the residents within the five districts located in the Yanamarca Valley; Tunanmarca, Pomacancha, Marco, Janjaillo and Acolla.

"The regional government has allocated a budget of S/.6 million soles, while for the recovery of Jauja's historic downtown we have a budget of S/.5 million soles," the official explained.

Salas Alvarado said that all this work will be focused around the archaeological complex of Tunanmarca, which will be also equipped with a museum.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.