More than 1 million tourists for Easter

Tourism in the post-pandemic era has been reactivating little by little in Peru. For the celebrations for Easter —one of the highest seasons for the sector—, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) estimates that More than 1 million travelers will be mobilized for the long holiday throughout the country.

However, recent events have hit the entire chain of tourism activities hard. The political and social crisis that was experienced from December to February due to the demonstrations against the Government of Dina Boluarte has brought a loss of more than S/2,000 million, reported Claricia Tirado DiazDirector of Tourism Promotion of Promperú.

In addition, the state of emergency decreed by the heavy rains and landslides registered in several regions as a result of Cyclone Yaku has also generated serious damage, where postponements of up to 50% in reserves were reported. “This weather situation has affected the tourist flow at the level of internal and receptive tourism,” Tirado told La República.

However, expectations remain higher than last year and the economic movement projected for this Holy Week amounts to US$107 millionaccording to the Mincetur.

flows and destinations

For these dates, internal tourism is the one that generates the most movement in the country. “There is a lot of interregional tourism, which moves within the country itself. Lima-provinces, provinces-Lima, including province-province,” he said. Carlos Loayzageneral manager of the National Chamber of Tourism of Peru (Canatur).

Among the preferred destinations, according to Promperú, is the south or the small south, such as Ica, Paracas, Nasca or short routes that can be done in each city of the country. Ayacucho and Cusco are also other regions with the highest expectation of arrival of visitors.

Madeleine Burns, Deputy Minister of Tourism, added that among the safest places to visit during Holy Week are the beaches, the jungle, the southern highlands, with the exception of Puno, and places near Lima.

In that sense, john gonzalezpresident of the Cusco Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that what is currently being seen in the Cusco region is a “stage of lethargy” of tourism. “This Holy Week we are going to have less than 50% of what we had last year”, refers. It also specifies that in 2022 on these dates the reservations for the services began to increase, but for the first quarter of this year there have been mainly cancellations.

This is reaffirmed by Sergio Rivas, vice president of Ahora Peru, as he revealed that at this time reservations in hotels and restaurants are between 15% and 20% less than last year. The situation could improve as the long weekend approaches.

In Ayacucho —one of the busiest cities these days due to its various activities—, the Mincetur estimates the influx of more than 25,000 inhabitants, which would be 20% higher than the figure registered in 2022; In addition, an impact of S/14 million would be reached.

Average spending

According to an analysis by the online travel and experience agency catch it.peduring the days of Holy Week —from April 6 to 9— most Peruvians who decide to travel outside of Lima, if they are local destinations, prefer to celebrate the long holiday in Cajamarca, Cusco, Tumbes and Piura.

For these cities, 37% of Peruvians book their air tickets and hotels approximately one month in advance, spending US$100 on the travel ticket and US$150 on hotels per person, which represents an increase of more than 55% compared to to a purchase made in low season. It is important to note that in February the demand for domestic flights rebounded by 76.12%.

The key

Situation. 90% of the country has all the accesses to tourist destinations and is enabled for tourism at Easterindicated Fernando Helguero, head of Mincetur.