Airport investment expected to exceed $150 million in 2010

Investment in Peru’s airports is expected to exceed $150 million in 2010 due to the construction of a new airport in Pisco and the awarding of the concession contract for the second regional airport package.

Minister of Transportation and Communications, Enrique Cornejo, said the airport in Pisco – located about 180 miles south of Lima – will require an investment of more than $40 million, state news agency Andina reported. Read more…

Transportation Ministry: Machu Picchu will reopen to tourists in 3 weeks

Minister of Transportation and Communications Enrique Cornejo said Friday he expects Machu Picchu will reopen to tourists in three weeks following torrential rains, floods and mudslides last week that swept away parts of the railway into the sacred Inca citadel.

Cornejo told Radio Programas Peru tourists will be able to bypass blockages between Cusco and Machu Picchu by traveling part of the distance by road and the rest by train. He said they will establish two temporary bridges to help bypass the 10 obstructions that are currently blocking access to the citadel.

Machu Picchu’s only access route, besides hiking, is by train. The railway to the citadel was blocked last week when heavy rainfall, floods and mudslides battered Peru’s southern Andean region. Read more…

Lawmakers present bill to promote alternative access roads to Machu Picchu

Legislators from President Alan García’s ruling Aprista party presented a bill to congress on Tuesday to promote the construction of access roads as alternatives to train to arrive at Machu Picchu, Peru’s sacred Inca citadel and top tourist attraction. The legislation, which was presented to Congress by lawmaker Luis Wilson, promotes the construction of two access roads that could transport tourists to Machu Picchu if the railway is blocked, state news agency Andina reported. Read more…

Tourism Minister: No damage to Machu Picchu, railway repairs expected to be completed in 8 weeks

Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Martín Pérez, said Tuesday that Peru’s top tourist attraction, Machu Picchu, was not damaged following torrential rains, mudslides and floods that washed out roads and railroad tracks  leading to the 15th Century sacred Inca citadel. Pérez told Radio Programas Peru he expects repairs of the railway to be finished in eight weeks.

“The citadel (of Machu Picchu), which I visited on Saturday after the tourists had been evacuated, was in perfect condition,” said Pérez. “The Inca knew not only how to build the drainage system, the hydraulic system is absolutely amazing. We went on Saturday and it was dry. Absolutely dry.” Read more…

President García pledges support for flood-devastated Cusco; estimates Machu Picchu train repairs could take less than 2 months

President Alan García called for public calm on Friday after flying over areas devastated by torrential rains, mudslides and floods in Peru’s southern Cusco department. García said the government will guarantee the reconstruction of the regions infrastructure and relief aid for some 25,000 people left homeless by the floods, daily El Comercio reported.

“The government is going to guarantee what is necessary to re-establish highways, railways and, in second place, electrical connections, which have been damaged in various places and can be re-established,” said García. He said the reconstruction could be done in less than two months. Read more…

Tourism Ministry: Tourists evacuated from Machu Picchu by age, not nationality

Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Martín Pérez, said on Wednesday the elderly, children and pregnant women are the first ones being evacuated from Machu Picchu, after torrential rains and mudslides stranded tourists at Peru’s sacred Inca citadel and top tourist attraction.

Pérez denied foreign tourists were given priority over Peruvian-born visitors, state news agency Andina reported.

“Yesterday we evacuated 475 tourists from Machu Picchu to Ollantaytambo, 103 of which are Peruvian nationals,” said Pérez. “We are evacuating tourists according to their age, if they are ill, if they are pregnant and children with their mothers.”

The Sacred Valley, the headway to Machu Picchu and the region’s agricultural bread basket, has been devastated by floods that have swept away bridges and destroyed vast swaths of crops. More than 10,000 residents have been affected. Read more…

Peru declares state of emergency after heavy rain in southern Andes; tourists evacuated from Machu Picchu

Peru’s Presidential Cabinet Chief Javier Velásquez announced a 60-day state of emergency in Peru’s Cusco and Apurímac departments on Monday as heavy rainfall and mudslides batter the southern Andean region. The storms have flooded the Vilcanota river, which blocked the railway between Cusco and Machu Picchu, Peru’s sacred Inca citadel and top tourist attraction. Read more…

Union ends natonal transportation strike following agreement with Peru government

The head of the National Council for Overland Transportation, or CNTT, announced on Thursday the end of a national passenger and cargo transportation strike after reaching an agreement with Peru’s government. The transportation union began their national strike on Tuesday following an increase in fuel prices and demanded, among other things, a 100 percent reduction in a diesel tax. Read more…

APEC Tourism Workshop opens in Cusco against backdrop of endangered sites

Peru’s minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Martín Pérez, opened the 35th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation’s Working Group meeting Thursday in Cusco. The meeting is being held in the Sacred Valley, with 85 representatives attending from 21 APEC nations. The APEC forum accounts for 50 percent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product. Read more…

Vice-Minister of Tourism evaluating nighttime Machu Picchu tours

Vice-Minister of Tourism Pablo López de Romaña Cáceres said Monday that his Ministry is currently evaluating the possibility of organizing night circuits for tourists to visit Machu Picchu, Peru’s sacred Inca citadel and top tourist attraction.

“We’re planning a new presentation for the citadel, with lights,” said Cáceres. “We don’t want the site to be too saturated with tourists, making it virtually impossible to take a photograph. This has been a good year, and we want the next year to be even better.”

According to Cáceres’ plan, visiting hours will be extended to include night tours and visits as of December 2009, or at the latest by 2010.

Tourists can currently visit the citadel from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Last year, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee requested reinforced monitoring for Peru’s Inca citadel of Machu Picchu expressing grave concern over the governance of the site, the overflow of tourists, and imminent risks of landslides, deforestation and especially fires.

According to the UNESCO, one-third of the forests and underbrush in the protected area surrounding Machu Picchu have been affected by fire, often set by local farmers attempting to clear chacra of undergrowth. In 1997, a fire destroyed vegetation immediately surrounding the ruins and reached the lowest terraces of the site.

And, the ruins face many threats related to unregulated and expanding tourism, the uncontrolled growth of hotels and restaurants in Aguas Calientes — which is putting great pressure on the site’s erosion-prone banks.

The site’s inclusion to the new list of world wonders has set off an unprecedented increase in the number of visitors, totaling a record-breaking 800,158 in 2007.

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