Before the pandemic, domestic tourism in Peru was the third most important industry for the country’s economy, right behind mining and agriculture. While still severely impacted by the coronavirus, it now sees a glimpse of hope.
Reopening tourism is now possible thanks to the vaccination programs, so there is more confidence across the country. The director of Peru’s Tourism Promotion Commission (PromPerú), María del Sol Velásquez García, highlighted that the ‘Return to Travel’ campaign represents the hope of thousands of families who depend on this important economic activity.
“The recently launched campaign aims to promote tourist destinations on a national level, encourage formal services, as well as raise awareness of the importance of resuming travel in a gradual, responsible manner as part of reactivating the industry,” said Mrs. Velásquez.
For Velásquez, the domestic tourism promotion strategy is proof of all the efforts made to reactivate the industry, and it shows the world that Peru does not stop.
“It is being reborn with the support of the public and private sectors, but this strategy is a call for all Peruvians to support the reactivation of tourism,” she said.
Offers
It’s highlighted that ‘Return to Travel’ is focused on domestic tourists, with important offers adapted to the economic situation that the country is going through.
“We work with agencies and tour operators that are part of ‘Y tú qué planes?’, a website that shows the current offers of the campaign. More than 140 companies are showcased with a total of 243 travel promotions and packages that have up to 73% discount across 23 regions to date,” explained the director of PromPerú.
The current offers include the regions of Amazonas, Áncash, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Apurímac, Cajamarca, Cusco, Callao, Huancavelica, Huánuco, Ica, Junín, La Libertad, Lima, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco, Piura, Puno, San Martín, Tacna and Ucayali.
Discounts
A range of discounts are offered to encourage families, couples and single people to travel Peru with tour operators, travel agencies, airlines and hotels of up to five stars that comply with COVID-19 health and safety guidelines.
Regarding the discounts, Mrs. Velásquez emphasized that of the 243 offers in the ‘Y tú qué planes?’ website, 145 have a discount of up to 20%, and 49 can have up to 30% discount. The offers are distributed across accommodation, transport and tour services.
Recovery Goals
The director of PromPerú also mentioned that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the country’s tourism activity was significant in 2020, with a fall of 70%.
This year, slight growth is expected compared to 2020, and the industry is projected to reach more than 14 million trips that, in turn, will generate 1,585 million dollars in the regions of the country. “In this case, we are only talking about domestic tourism,” she said.