The experience of visiting Machu Picchu It has become a frustrating journey for thousands of tourists. The sale of tickets, which should be a simple procedure, forces many to wait up to three days in Aguascalientes to get a ticket. System failures and abandonment of Government They aggravate the problem.
For months, Cusco tourist guilds have warned that the official platform of the Ministry of Culture is poor. To this is added the face -to -face sale in the window, which has been captured by resale networks that operate unpunished in front of the authorities. Complaints accumulate, but the executive is silent.
The Ministry of Culture signed commitments to improve access to the Inca citadel. However, progress has not been made on a safe platform, nor have promised investments in the Visitors Center or income control infrastructure have been made. The consequence is a constant fall in the arrival of tourists and a perception of disgust.
Meanwhile, tourism, one of the economic engines of Cusco, is being beaten strongly. Agencies lose reservations, operators warn cancellations and visitors publicly complain about abuse and improvisation. But neither the Minister of Culture nor President Dina Boluarte have responded.
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Juan Stoessel, vice president of the Cartuc: “The Ministry of Culture is responsible for chaos”
From the Cusco Chamber of Tourism, its vice president, Juan Stoessel, has been emphatic in pointing out that the main problem in Machu Picchu is the lack of government management. It ensures that the ticket sales system has been delivered to inefficient operators who do not know the territory or the needs of the sector. The result is an unstable system, without technical criteria and without the ability to meet demand.
Stoessel recalls that the Executive assumed concrete commitments, such as the elimination of the sale in the window and the implementation of a single digital platform. None have been fulfilled. In addition, the face -to -face sale has been covered by mafias that resell tickets at high prices, while tourists make endless tails without guarantee of getting a ticket.
“We are already in August, in the middle of high season, and we continue with the same problem (…) I do not understand how they can treat tourists.
The entrepreneur also criticizes that progress has not been made in the Visitors Center, a key work to order the tourist flow. The delay reveals, he says, a total lack of political will to protect one of the most important destinations in the country. He adds that the damage to the international image of Peru is huge and affects not only Cusco, but the entire country brand.
From its perspective, the State has abandoned Machu Picchu. Neither the Ministry of Culture nor the Presidency of the Republic have offered real solutions. Stoessel requires that technical, non -populist decisions be taken, and that the tourism sector be respected as a source of employment and development for thousands of Cusco families.
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Livia Huari: “The system is arbitrary and is affecting our sales”
Livia Huari, professional guide and member of the Association of Official Operators of the Inca Road Network (ASOORCIC), denounces that failures in the reserve system are directly affecting the agencies that operate access to Machu Picchu and the Inca path. Users cannot plan their visit in advance, as the dates appear as not available, but they are arbitrarily enabled one day before. This generates uncertainty and distrust.
In addition, Huari warns that the Ministry of Culture has imposed new restrictions that have not been properly communicated. One of them is the limitation of the second day of entry to the Inca road, which disrupts itineraries already sold and generates the cancellation of reserves. The agencies, which schedule months in advance, have had to explain last minute changes to their clients without official support.
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“Many passengers do not want to travel because they do not want to add another day. So there is already harming sales, the income that there should be for the company (…) The Minister of Culture, the director, does not face the face. Simply, we are going to claim (…) The only thing that we are now making the demands is through a lawyer,” he said
Livia Huari warned that sales have fallen between 40% and 45% in recent months. The combination of defective systems, decisions without technical support and absence of clear channels to solve problems is hitting formal tourism. Meanwhile, authorities only offer excuses or blame technical errors, without assuming any responsibility.
