Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Juan Carlos Mathews on Thursday affirmed that inbound tourism is expected to see a 10% rise by the end of this year, despite the circumstances that arose in the beginning of 2023, which affected the sector's development.
"Before the (COVID-19) pandemic, inbound tourism fluctuated between 4.3 million and 4.4 million tourists. Then, with the pandemic, the figure dropped to 800,000 people. Afterwards, the sector saw a recovery, as 2 million tourists came last year," the minister explained.
"Taking this as a starting point, we expect to welcome 2.2 million international tourists this year, which will result in a 10% growth," he added.
Mathews admitted that this increase is still low compared to the goal that was initially set.
"However, it must be noted that this year began with protests, dengue, Cyclone Yaku, the migratory crisis, that is, under very difficult circumstances, but, even so, the country will witness an expansion," he said.
Regarding
domestic tourism, the head of
Mincetur explained that the number of trips will increase from 27 million in 2022 to 35 million (in 2023), which will mean a rise of 25%.
"We keep growing, even with the above-mentioned difficulties and, obviously, it is a challenge that we must face," he stated.
As for foreign trade, the Cabinet member underlined that the sector may close the year with positive numbers.
"Non-traditional shipments will probably grow 1%, while the traditional ones will fall due to several reasons, either because of commodity prices or because of lower fish meal shipments, due to a low anchovy, jack mackerel, and mackerel season," he noted.
Remarks were made during LATAM's presentation of the Lima-London direct route, which will operate five weekly frequencies starting December 1 this year.
(END) VLA/RMB/MVB
Published: 9/7/2023