According to the Peruvian Ministry of Tourism the international tourist arrivals in the country in the first quarter of this year grew by 8.3% over the same period in 2014 and reached a total of 867,503 arrivals.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR) announced that the number of Chilean visitors rose to 36,000,924, up 14.4% over the same period last year and this represents 33.8% of total international tourist arrivals in the country.
The portfolio minister, Magali Silva Velarde-Álvarez, said: "The comprehensive strategy in this market, with promotional campaigns in major cities and along the border, has created growth and has managed to reverse the negative trend witnessed in the previous year."
Also noteworthy in the first quarter is the increase in arrivals from countries in the Latin American region, such as Mexico with 17%, Colombia with 14.2%, followed by Ecuador with an increase of 9.4%; Argentina 9.6% and Brazil 6%. These markets represent 22% of total international arrivals in the country.
"Incoming tourism keeps growing and this is the result of the intense promotion undertaken by MINCETUR through Promperú and Peruvian Trade Offices Abroad (OCEX), with actions aimed at the end consumer and joint work with the marketing chain."
Other highlights include 16 Strategic Partnerships with tour operators in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Canada and Spain, among others. Peru also has a presence at the main international fairs where marketing levels are expected to reach $60 million for the current year.
Another factor to be highlighted is the pace of sustained growth in Germany and Spain with results of 8.1% and 7.5% respectively. It must also be noted that the "Peru, Country of Hidden Treasures" campaign was launched in Spain in late January of this year with OCEX Madrid using gastronomy to boost tourism promotion.
One of the results of the market diversification strategy has been the sustained growth in South Korea and China in Asia, showing rates of 50.5% and 21.5% respectively, a trend which has continued since 2014.
In the Korean market, to strengthen this growth linked to marketing, Peruvian tour operators will participate in the Expo Korea 2015 scheduled for July 14 and 15.
In China, Peru’s presence in the marketing channel has been growing, resulting in the recent visit of a large delegation of Chinese tour operators who toured the country, ahead of their participation in the sector’s most important Stock Exchange of Tourism Marketing - Peru Travel Mart 2015 held in Lima.