15:37 | Lambayeque (Lambayeque region), Feb. 4.
Tourism is one of the worst affected economic activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the world, thus causing one of the most representative and visited cultural sites in Peru —the
Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum in the northern Lambayeque city— to close its doors for more than nine months.
This situation affected the number of visits in 2020, as the site received only 42,995 visitors in the first three months.
This was announced by the museum director Walter Alva, who noted that —due to the fact that the site remained closed for nine months because of the pandemic— the number of visits registered in 2020 was 42,995 —a 76% decline compared to a year earlier, when 185,000 visits were recorded— which resulted in the museum losing more than S/500,000 (about US$137,362) in revenue last year.
The archaeologist reported that the number of domestic visitors to the museum reached 40,378, accounting for 93% of the total.
Domestic visitors came from Lima, Piura, Cusco, La Libertad, Arequipa, Cajamarca, Amazonas, Ancash, Junin, and Puno, among other regions.
The number of foreign visitors was 2,617, who represented only 7% of the total. They came from Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, as well as countries in Europe, Asia, and South America.
60% of the visitors were adults, followed by university students (20%), school students (16%), and elderly people (4%).
(END) SDC/MAO/RMB/MVB
Published: 2/4/2021