More than 2 million
foreign visitors came to Peru in 2008, an increase of 17 percent over
the previous year, according to figures from the government's tourism
promotion office published Saturday by the Lima press.
Of
the 2.1 million people who visited the country between January and
November 2008, about 25 percent came from Chile and another 17 percent
from the United States, according to the Prom-Peru tourism promotion
commission.Tourists also came from Argentina (4.3 percent), Britain (3.7 percent), Spain (3.5 percent) and Colombia (3.4 percent), among others.
Some 28 percent of all foreign visitors came on corporate tourism or business trips, and the rest for recreation, health or family reasons, according to Prom-Peru figures cited in the daily El Comercio.
The tourism promotion director of Prom-Peru, Mara Seminario, stressed that the Euro-Latin and the Asia-Pacific (APEC) summits, held in Lima in May and November 2008, respectively, as well as the signing of trade treaties, boosted corporate tourism.
In that sense, she recalled that many hotels have already begun investments that will total $580 million by 2010, for four- and five-star lodgings, although she said that more care must still be given to such areas as infrastructure, budgeting and citizens' safety.
Insecurity for citizens, as reported by the U.S. State Department, puts Peru at a disadvantage, as does the lack of connections at certain local and international airports.
The daily El Comerico recalled that this year Aerocondor Airlines closed down its operations, while Star Peru slashed its flights drastically.
Seminario also said that 2009 will be a difficult year, and therefore no concrete tourism goals have been established as yet.
The Peruvian government hopes that by the year 2018 the number of tourists will have tripled in comparison with 2008.
more information: http://www.visitperu.com/
Source: Latin American Herald Tribune
