Travel and hotel reservations are reactivated, but they would only reach 50%

Tourism, one of the activities most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and which has not yet recovered from this havoc, has also been in the last two weeks one of the sectors hardest hit by the outbreak of protests at the national level. So much so that, in this period, around 2 million tourists have stopped traveling as a result of airport closures and road blockades, which has caused a weekly loss of S/500 million, according to Carlos Loayza, general manager. of the National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur).

“Until December 20, we have had a record that 2 million tourists are leaving this activity, (…) which is an average of 200,000 or 250,000 tourists a day,” he estimates.

This would also prevent the goal of 2 million foreign tourists in 2022 from being achieved.

However, the situation would no longer look so dark as a result of the weakening of the stoppages, the signing of some truces, the release of land routes and the reopening of the main airports.

For example, in the Cusco region, one of the flagship destinations of Peru, the occupancy of the hotels is between 15% and 20%; However, although the recovery continues to be slow, These figures will even double in the coming days., estimates Henry Yabar, representative of the Hotel Chamber of Cusco. “We hope that with last-minute reservations we will reach 30%, being optimistic at 40% occupancy, especially for New Years,” he says. He adds that the initial forecasts for this end of the year were to occupy 90% of the capacity of the hotels in Cusco.

Yabar also points out that in recent days reservation cancellations have already stopped, “although no reactivations have been made,” he laments.

Blow to incoming tourism

In the case of travel agencies, incoming tourism reservations have fallen by up to 75%, making it the subsector most affected by the social upheaval, says Ricardo Acosta, president of the Peruvian Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (Apavit).

On the other hand, it is worth noting that internal tourists in recent days they have stopped the cancellation of their tripsTherefore, it is expected that the agencies will reach 50% of their usual level of reservations.

According to Acosta, this result would be driven by the separations made for the beaches of the north, which will be the destinations least harmed by the current social context. “By the end of the year, flights to the north are in high demand (…), it is at 60%,” he underlines. In contrast, the most affected tourist areas would be Cusco, Arequipa, Puno, Tarapoto and cajamarca.

With a view to 2023

Domestic tourism will be the great support of tourist activities in the first months of 2023, says Carlos Loayza. The same is stated by Ricardo Acosta, who also indicates that the Government must carry out a aggressive campaign to promote national tourism to build trust abroad.

Tourism Mypes in critical condition

In the tourism sector, 9 out of 10 companies are micro-enterprises and in the last 10 days their billing has been nil, says Carlos Loayza.

“This affects the credits that these companies have. We have already received requests for extensions, extensions and certain types of considerations from many associates”, he reveals.

Therefore, it suggests that the Con Punche Peru plan, recently announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, consider companies in this area among the sectors most affected by the social outbreak.

The word

Henry Yabar, Hotel Chamber of Cusco

“The large number of reservations that are being made these days are last minute (…) and the cancellations have already stopped, the majority have canceled on the strongest days of the strike.”