The number of foreign tourists that have arrived in Peru in 2022 is not even half of what was registered before the pandemic, in 2019, a scenario contrary to what thousands of businesses expected, reported the Peruvian Association of Receptive and Internal Tourism Operators (Apotur).
“We should be at one million 900 thousand tourists by the end of 2022. This figure has been lower than expected. Peru is one of the countries within the region with the lowest growth in terms of receptive tourism. For example, Chile, which has been one of the countries that had the most restrictions on tourism, once its doors opened, began a strong promotional campaign in the main markets,” said the union’s president, Enrique Quiñones.
The responsibility for this situation was attributed by Quiñones the former Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Roberto Sánchez, and the former director of Receptive Tourism of Promperú, Rosa Béjar.
Quiñones asserted that “there have been zero campaigns to promote receptive tourism abroad. He has not supported himself in this sense for the sector to grow ”and that“ the political situation that arose at the end of 2022 deteriorated the sector ”.
“We have to carry out a strong campaign to position Peru as a reliable destination, taking into account that it has been the only country in the region that has suffered these violent demonstrations,” he stressed.
Expectations for 2023
Quiñones commented that the projections of the current Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Luis Helguero, about reaching 3 million foreign tourists in 2023, can be met.
However, he considered that the figures will continue to be below those of 2019, when about 4.4 million foreign visitors arrived.
“It will be a different situation. There will be many air routes restored, the borders will be fully open and hopefully we can reach 3 million visitors. However, our ceiling is 4.9 million tourists and we could only reach that figure in the year 2024. There are Asian markets that are still closed, such as China, Japan and South Korea”, affirmed the business leader.
