14:00 | Cusco (Cusco region), Jul. 8.
The
Machu Picchu District Municipality expects the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) to complete the new carrying capacity study for the
Inca Citadel of Machu Picchu before year-end, so that more domestic and foreign tourists can visit it.
Mayor Elvis La Torre expressed support for the study prepared in 2015 by the consultancy "Cultural Site Research and Management, under the direction of Douglas Comer."
The document sets the limit at 5,940 visits per day—nearly 350 more than the site currently receives—as a first step.
Likewise, La Torre believes the increase could even reach 8,000 visits per day, as the Inca Citadel may at one point have received far more.
"Historically, we have reached 9,000 tourists per day; we had all the necessary infrastructure and services here in Machu Picchu Pueblo," the mayor told Andina News Agency.
"We are working to raise the daily visitor cap to 5,940, which is the limit under the Comer study; in parallel, a new study is being conducted to exceed that figure, and hopefully we can reach 7,000, 8,000 or perhaps even more. It will depend largely on what specialists tell us about Machu Picchu’s true capacity," he stressed.
High season
Entrance tickets are currently purchased through a virtual platform, while some 1,000 are sold in person in Machu Picchu Pueblo (Town).
The sale of the 1,000 tickets led to queues in the small town, and tourists complained of mistreatment.
According to the mayor, the sale of these tickets had historically been conducted in person, but problems have arisen since 2021 because the Ministry of Culture imposed a minimum visitor cap at Machu Picchu.
"That is when we started having problems with the queues, from 2021 to the present. For the past five to six years, this has projected a negative image," La Torre lamented.
He added that this situation has economically harmed the Machu Picchu district, Cusco, and southern Peru.
To overcome this problem and avoid queues in Machu Picchu Pueblo, the mayor said the municipality is awaiting Mincetur's new visitor-capacity study, which would allow more visits per day.
"It is currently being prepared, and we expect to have a new carrying capacity ready by the end of the year, with new circuits and some other components that can help preserve our wonder," he said.
According to La Torre, this new study must ensure the preservation, conservation, maintenance, and care of the Inca Citadel.
"There is a commitment from Mincetur to implement geoblocks (so as to prevent soil wear) and security cameras," he noted.
Asked about a possible UNESCO warning over overcrowding at Machu Picchu—a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1983—the mayor said there would be "none, as long as work is carried out jointly in accordance with each party's responsibilities."
"There is no major impact on Machu Picchu in terms of its preservation and conservation. In 2017, we were congratulated on environmental management in the district, and we continue to improve. As long as there is no impact, there will be no observations," he concluded.
(END) PHS/MAO/MVB
Published: 7/8/2026