News about tourism in Peru / T News

AIR FRANCE RESUMED OPERATIONS IN PERU
WITH FIVE LIMA-PARIS WEEKLY FLIGHTS
ANDINA. The first Air France flight of all five weekly direct flights from Paris to Peru arrived last Tuesday afternoon to Lima.

Thus, the Air France KLM Group offers twelve weekly flights from Lima to Europe and the world.

The first delegation of officials from the French airline was led by Director of Air France KLM routes to the Americas, Henri Hie, who expressed his satisfaction for having arrived in Lima on a non-stop flight. He added that resuming operations in Peru will further strengthen Franco-Peruvian trade relations and friendship.

Hie and his entourage was welcomed at the Jorge Chavez International Airport by Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Eduardo Ferreyros, French Ambassador to Peru, Cecile Pozzo di Borgo, and Promperu Director of Tourism Promotion, Rocio Merino.

Also, by LAP General Manager Juan Jose Salmon, Corpac Airports Manager, Juan Carlos Crovetto, Air France-KLM Director for Andean and Central America area Domingo de Cola and AIR FRANCE KLM General Manager for Peru Frances Stone.

In an emotional welcoming ceremony, the pilots of the modern Air France Boeing 777-200ER showed the flags of France and Peru from the cockpit.

Hie formally announced the upcoming visit to Peru of Air France KLM Chairman and CEO, Jean-Cyril Spinetta and Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, respectively, on July 1, who are meet with President Alan Garcia at the Government Palace.

Both; Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Eduardo Ferreyros,
and French Ambassador to Peru, Cécile Pozzo Di Borgo, at the
inauguration of the first direct flight from Paris to Lima. (Photo: ANDINA)

PERU, RUSSIA LAUNCH
FREE-VISA AGREEMENT
ANDINA. A 2010 agreement between Russia and Peru on visa-free short-term travel comes into effect on last Tuesday.

The agreement between the two governments was signed on November 13, 2010 in Japan's Yokohama, RIA Novosti reported.

Under the agreement, Russian and Peruvian tourists are not required visas for entry, exit, transit or stay on the territory of another state for up to 90 days within each 180-day period from the first entry.

Many states in Latin America scraped visa requirements for Russian citizens, including Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Guatemala and Brazil.

Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, Peru. (Photo: ANDINA)

HIRAM BINGHAM LISTED AMONG
TOP 10 EPIC TRAIN JOURNEYS BY CNN
ANDINA. The Hiram Bingham Orient-Express, which connects Cusco to Machu Picchu, ranked second in the list of the top 10 epic train journeys in the world compiled by CNNGo, a travel television show broadcast by CNN.

The publication highlights the gastronomy that it is offered “during the four hours it takes to climb heavenwards through the spectacular Andes mountains” and adds that “this is the easy way to tackle the Inca Trail.”

In addition, it mentions Hiram Bingham, who was an American historian credited with bringing the ancient Inca site of Machu Picchu to world attention.

On the other hand, the travelers are reminded to take their party frock for the cocktail party on the return evening journey. This train boards from Poroy with a cost of US$588 round-trip.

The list of the top epic train journeys also includes the Orient-Express route to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, the legendary Venice-Simplon, which passes through several cities in Europe and the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia, allowing discover of the Russian Arctic and the silk Road from Moscow.

Another train on the list was the Pride of Africa, offering luxurious suites on a train that can be boarded in Cape Town, South Africa, or in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

Luxury train service to Machu Picchu. (Photo: ANDINA)

PROTECTION OF MACHU PICCHU DURING
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS IS GUARANTEED
ANDINA. The protection of the historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu is guaranteed during the two ceremonies scheduled on the occasion of the 100th anniversary celebration of its scientific discovery, the High Level Commission responsible for the organization of the event said.

The National Service of Protected Natural Areas by the State (Sernanp) made an assessment of the areas to be used for the two ceremonies (one during the day and the other at the night), as well as the technical conditions and the entire logistics involved for the celebrations scheduled for July 7.

Media equipments of both TV Peru and of Iguana Films were supervised in order to verify that they would not affect the sanctuary.

The first evaluation has been positive as it was verified that the High Level Commission has followed the recommendations made by Sernanp and Cusco’s Regional Directorate of Culture.

For instance, using two different locations for each event in agricultural areas, which will guarantee that celebrations will take place far away from the sanctuary’s sensitive areas and, thus, avoiding doing any damage to the monument.

Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. (Photo: ANDINA)

LAP TO INVEST US$ 80MLN IN
PERU’S AIRPORT EXPANSION WORKS
ANDINA. Lima Airport Partners (LAP), concessionaire of the Jorge Chavez international airport, is likely to invest US$80 million during 2011 to expand Peru's airport, general manager Juan Salmon said.

Recently, the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) presented to LAP 190,000 square meters of expropriated land, located in the North Wing.

This area was used as a parking space for aircrafts code letter A and B, but it will now be for aircrafts code letter C, which account for 70 percent of the total fleet operating in the airport.

Salomon pointed out that all 190,000 meters represent just a small part of the nearly six million square meters that the government should give to LAP in order to build the second runway and a new terminal.

This new area will be used for complementary services to the airport such as maintenance, parking and storage. “The idea is for the airport to have a larger operational capacity.”

Jorge Chavez International Airport.

LIMA AIRPORT PASSENGER TRAFFIC
TO HIT 11 MLN BY YEAR-END
ANDINA. Lima Airport Partners (LAP), concessionaire of the Jorge Chavez airport in Peruvian capital Lima, expects passenger traffic at the airport to reach 11 million by the end of this year.

"In recent years this indicator has grown at an annual rate of ten percent, and only in terms of transit passengers, the number grew 37 percent in the first quarter," LAP's general manager Juan Salmon told Andina.

He recalled that Lima's airport handled passenger traffic of 10.2 million in 2010 so there are great chances to achieve this year's target figure.

On the other hand, Salmon said that many foreign airlines are interested in entering the Peruvian market due to the efficiency and services of the Jorge Chavez airport as well as the country's dynamic economy.

"We're talking to a number of airlines to which we have given full information about the movement and operation of the airport," he explained.

Lima's Jorge Chavez International Airport. (Photo: ANDINA)

PERU EMBASSY, NATGEO CELEBRATE
MACHU PICCHU CENTENNIAL IN US
ANDINA. The Peruvian embassy to the United States, in association with the National Geographic Society (NatGeo), will celebrate in Washington DC the 100th anniversary of the scientific discovery of Machu Picchu with screenings, photo exhibitions, conferences and artistic shows.

The program will start on June 27 with the opening of the photographic exhibit “Machu Picchu: A Lost City Uncovered” that features pictures taken by the Hiram Bingham during his expeditions to Cusco between 1911 and 1915.

The free-admission event will run until September 11 at the NatGeo museum.

In addition, the conferences “Cradle of Gold: Hiram Bingham and the Revelation of Machu Picchu” and “Weaving Space and Time: The Inca Ceremonial Calendar” by speakers Christopher Heaney and Tom Zuidema, respectively, will take place at the museum.

Meanwhile, the US Library of Congress will host an exhibition of the main publications of Machu Picchu, starting June 29, as well as two lectures on the historical context of the Incas by Anita Cook, and on the Inca citadel by Margaret MacLean.

Moreover, for four consecutive weeks, NatGeo’s Grosvenor Auditorium will screen documentaries and movies from and about Peru where Peruvian filmmakers Sonia Goldenberg and Ernesto Cabellos will introduce their documentaries “Sax Country,” and “Cooking up Dreams,” respectively.

Furthermore, a Peruvian dance festival that includes dance workshops and demonstrations as well as the screenings of Mitchell Teplitsky’s Soy Andina and Gabriela Yepes’ Danzak films will be held at the auditorium.

Machu Picchu exhibit at the National Geographic Society (NatGeo)
museum in Washington DC. (Photo: ANDINA)

QUETZAL EXPEDITION ROUTE
MEMBERS VISITED LA LIBERTAD
ANDINA. Members of the Quetzal Expedition Route, which will run from the Moche desert to the Amazon forest of Peru, visited the main archaeological complexes and natural attractions in La Libertad.

The Regional Directorate of Culture of La Libertad noted that all 350 students and journalists from Latin America and Europe visited the archaeological complexes of Huaca El Sol and La Luna in Trujillo’s Moche district; and of El Brujo in the province of Ascope, where the Lady of Cao’s female mummy is showcased.

After spending the night at El Silencio beach, in Huanchaco district, the expedition members learned about the sowing process of totora and the elaboration of the traditional reed watercrafts kwon as 'caballitos de totora' used by Peruvian fishermen.

They also moved on to the archaeological complex of Chan Chan where they visited the site-museum and appreciated the ancient walls of the Nik-An Palace.

The Quetzal Expedition Route, designed for young people aged 16-17 years old, aims to forge bonds among Ibero-American Spanish-speaking nations including Brazil and Portugal.

Quetzal Route 2011 will arrive to Kuelap fortress in Amazon. (Photo: ANDINA)

OLYMPIANS TO RUN
THE INCA TRAIL
ANDINA. Winter Olympic medalist Martin Koukal from the Czech Republic and fellow Olympian Roberto Carcelen from Peru are leading the running expedition called “Joining the two lost Inca’s cities – from Choquequirao to Machu Picchu” from July 1 to 13.

Over a period of five days, the two professional cross-country skiers will cover a 50-mile-long route that exceeds 30,000 feet of elevation gain.

Roberto Carcelen was a runner and surfer before his wife introduced him to cross-country skiing.

“Cross-country skiing is considered the hardest sport in the world, and that aspect really attracted me,” Carcelen told the New York Times in a 2009 interview.

Carcelen was the first Peruvian ever to qualify to the Winter Olympics.

The running expedition is coordinated by Inca Runners, LLC, a US-based adventure travel company founded by Carcelen in 2003. As a part of the Inca Runners Ambassadors Program, Inca Runners LLC is inviting a number of world-class athletes to visit Peru.

Carcelen learned of the Chasquis first time he went to the Andes, Livingingperu.com reports.

"They were endurance messenger runners from the Inca Empire, they had the role of posting and delivering goods to the Inca royalty running on the Inca Trail system," he said.

"I got inspired by the ideal of these old Peruvians and the fact the the Inca Trail system is still there, to offer all inclusive running tours on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. I ran all those trails several times, they are amazing, best altitude training while visiting the main tourist attractions."

The Inca Runners expedition says its trips have two goals. First, to promote Peru as an attractive high-altitude training destination for endurance athletes who want to improve their overall fitness goals and second to deliver donation care package and interact with kids in the villages along the route.

“Our Ambassador Program has scheduled three more trips to Peru in 2011 and ten trips for the 2012 season. All the trips are lead by Olympians and elite, world-class athletes”, says Hugo Mendez, Inca Runners CEO.

Peruvian cross-country skier Roberto Carcelen at the 2010
Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. (Photo. Captura TV)

CHAN CHAN, KUELAP, MACHU PICCHU
DECLARED 'SISTER CITADELS'
ANDINA. Peru's Ministry of Culture has formally declared the archaeological complexes of Chan Chan in La Libertad, Kuelap in Amazonas and the historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu in Cusco as 'sister citadels'.

The official recognition was granted by Supreme Decree No. 004-2011-MC, published in the legal notices section of the daily newspaper El Peruano.

According to the document, the three famous citadels share common aspects and have significant cultural value, which in the cases of Chan Chan and Machu Picchu has earned them Unesco world heritage status.

"They were the main settlements of the ancient Chimu, Chachapoyas and Inca cultures and are examples of architectural, aesthetic and scientific achievements of pre-Hispanic Peru," it adds.

Another aspect shared by the three sites is the harmonious adaptation to the natural environment as Kuelap and Machu Picchu combined with the Amazon and Andean jungle, while Chan Chan is specially adapted to the coastal desert of Peru.

The Peruvian government said that Chan Chan, Kuelap, Machu Picchu are symbols of regional identity, and the latter succeeded in becoming one of the most representative expressions of national identity.

Chan Chan is located approximately 5km west of Trujillo in northern Peru.

TOURISM REPRESENTS
3.7% OF PERU’S GDP
ANDINA. Tourist activity represents 3.7 percent of Peru’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) according to the latest results given by the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) 2007, Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) said.

A Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) is a statistical accountant framework in the field of tourism and measures the goods and services according to international standards of concepts, classifications and definitions which allow valid comparisons from country to country in a consistent manner.

A complete TSA contains detailed production accounts of the tourism industry and their linkages to other industries, employment, capital formation and additional non-monetary information on tourism.

Deputy Minister of Tourism Mara Seminario noted that the TSA 2007 main objective is to assess the supply and demand of goods and services provided to tourists under the country’s new economic structure regarding 2007.

To that end, the TSA uses different sources of statistical data as well as specialized studies that are typical in tourist activity.

“The main indicator is Tourism GDP (TGDP) which totaled 11.6 billion soles,” the deputy minister told Andina news agency.

The value of the TGDP is represented by the contribution made by tourism sector which include hotels, restaurants, passenger transportation, travel agencies, handicraft production, cultural and recreation services, among others.

Tourists visiting the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. (Photo: ANDINA)

ARCHEOLOGISTS MAKE NEW
DISCOVERIES IN PACHACAMAC TEMPLE
ANDINA. A group of archeologists, lead by Katiusha Bernuy, recently discovered the entry to the Calle Norte –Sur (North-South street) of the temple of Pachacamac, in southeast Lima.

Such entry would be the original entrance to this pre-Hispanic center, and this space is expected to be opened for visitors in 2013.

Exploration works, which are part of the Pachacamac Management Plan Project, suggest that the Calle Norte –Sur dates back to 1380 to 1440 D.C.

This street was an important route to the temple complex, which was defined and delineated by tall walls of stone and adobe. The road currently is 332 meters long and between 2 and 4.7 meters wide.

In addition, the archaeologists found the tomb of an important figure with cranial deformation, surrounded by women, and who was buried with a ceremonial kero, textile and vessels.

Also, a gigant spondylus and a bone carved with a feline face were found.

PISCO BECOMES
FASTEST-GROWING SPIRIT IN US
ANDINA. Pisco, the clear grape spirit of South America, is emerging from the mist of history and bringing rich freshness to cocktails.

In New York and other cities, liquor stores and bars that carried no pisco a few years ago have several now and are adding more, making it the fastest-growing spirit in the country, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

The new piscos are a far cry from the famously rustic, hangover-inducing stuff that was previously available. Top-shelf piscos are being made for Peruvian connoisseurs, and these newer entries are feeding the growing export market, often with an assist from American expertise, passion and money.

“Pisco is not quite mainstream yet,” said Julie Reiner, an owner of Lani Kai in Manhattan and Clover Club in Brooklyn. “But it is gaining traction as the public learns about it.”

According to an article in the Dining & Wine section of the New York Times, data from consulting firm Veritrade show that Peru leads the surge, with pisco exports to the United States having nearly doubled last year.

Johnny Schuler, a restaurateur and television personality in Lima, is the distiller for Pisco Portón, a product aimed at the American market. Last month, Mr. Schuler said the company, which he owns with William Kallop, a Texas oilman, would spend millions promoting the spirit.

Pisco Portón may be one of the best-funded new brands, but it is not the first at the high end. In 2005, Diego Loret de Mola, a Peruvian-American who had worked in finance, began to import BarSol. Melanie and Lizzie Asher, sisters who were born in Peru, attended Harvard and now live in Washington, introduced Macchu Pisco in 2006.

Within a year, they were the biggest exporters of Peruvian pisco, and they say their sales have increased 30 percent every year.

Campo de Encanto, a partnership between a mixologist and a sommelier in San Francisco together with a distiller in Peru, made its debut in 2010. So did Viñas de Oro, a line of 11 piscos that Timothy Childs, an entrepreneur from San Francisco and a founder of ClearGrape, discovered on a trip to Peru.

Peruvian pisco bottles. (Photo: ANDINA)

Nota del Director: Esta información está disponible en el portal de noticias oficial de Perú, Andina, que contiene valiosa información en inglés. Es el único portal que permite el uso de sus noticias siempre que se consigne la fuente. Las noticias no han sido editadas por T News, solo facilitadas para que la industria turística puede compartirla con sus contactos internacionales. Muchas de ellas ya fueron publicadas en castellano. Es un resumen semanal. Sólo en este caso, T News tendrá especial cuidado que las noticias sean prioritariamente convenientes a la imagen del país como destino de turistas y nuevas inversiones.