The tourism sector —one of the main generators of employment in Peru— has incurred losses of about S/1.5 billion (about US$396.6 million) from December to date, due to acts of violence that occurred mainly in the southern regions of the country,
National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur) Executive-Director Tito Alegria reported.
According to the officer, so far the losses —in a sector that is highly sensitive to situations which seriously affect its performance— are considerable.
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Since the protests began in December last year to date, tourism has lost between S/50 million (US$13.2 million) and S/60 million (US$15.9 million) a day. Law enforcement officers have recovered the air terminals taken by protesters, but the damage to the sector has already been done," he said in remarks to
Andina news agency.
Alegria stated that tourism depends on transportation, because this activity cannot develop without connectivity.
"So, we have to work on these issues to rescue and save tourism," he pointed out.
The executive-director asserted that these violent demonstrations have caused cancellations as a cascade effect, which affected the entire industry in general.
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The expectations and intentions of foreign tourists towards Peru have been cancelled, which makes the situation particularly serious. We have held meetings with Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Luis Helguero, who has shown that he is predisposed to find a solution," Alegria said.
Proposals
In this sense, the Canatur head affirmed that the guild had sent some emergency proposals to reactivate the tourism sector.
"They are proposals of a financial nature so that companies in the sector can continue operating," he remarked.
Said proposals include declaring the tourism sector in emergency and giving firms a six-month extension for the payment of fees under the Reactivate Peru program.
(END) VLA/SDD/RMB/MVB
Published: 1/13/2023