The businesses that are dedicated to tourism in Cusco begin to prepare to recover the lost tourism, after the Cusco Airport restarted its operations and the resumption of the Ollantaytambo railway was announced to Macchu Picchu.
The recovery, however, would be slow and would affect the arrival of tourists in the coming weeks, including the remainder of December and especially the days after Christmas, considered high season for the New Year holidays. This was explained by the CEO of Casa Andina, Juan Stoessel, to Perú21.
Hotel occupancy in Cusco, he explained, has dropped to close to 60% and, although they hope to start the recovery of tourism, some cancellations are still expected.
“The high season starts from December 26 to January 4 or 6 (…). We could have 50% because we may still see more cancellations,” Stoessel said.
Regarding Machu Picchu, he remarked that Aguas Calientes used to receive between 3,000 and 5,000 travelers a day, but now the number was zero. Therefore, he considered that the recovery of Aguas Calientes will begin with the resumption of railway operations by Peru Rail.
Keep in mind
-Peru Rail announced the resumption of operations on the Ollantaytambo-Machu Picchu route.
-Berner Caballero, representative of the Cusco Chamber of Tourism, explained that the recovery in Aguas Calientes will also require the return of workers from the area, since many left due to the blockade of the train track, which also carried food.
