Dakar Rally 2013 To Start Off In Lima

Peru is to host in 2013 the start of the Dakar Rally, the off-road race that the country hopes will provide a big boost to the tourism industry.

Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Jose Luis Silva confirmed Wednesday that the start of the race will be in Lima on January 5 and will finish on January 20 in the Chilean capital of  Santiago.

According to Silva, the race will be viewed by millions of people from 190 countries, providing potential for Peru to showcase itself to the world and provide a significant boost to tourism.

If the southern Peruvian city of Arequipa, for example, is included in the race, Read more…

Heavy Rains Strand Tourists En Route To Machu Picchu

Approximately 200 tourists who were heading to Peru’s ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu were stranded due to heavy rains, newspaper El Comercio reported Tuesday.

The tourists were stuck in the Colcamayo zone, in the district of Santa Teresa, on an alternative road to Machu Picchu, the daily said.

Some of the tourists, including approximately 80 Chileans, decided to continue on Read more…

Dancing with my Ancestors

By Wilma Doris Loayza ~
Special to Andean Air Mail & PERUVIAN TIMES ~

From the Andes to New York, and Back ~

In 2008, I was invited to dance as a Palla by Abya Yala, a Peruvian cultural group in New York, for an Inti Raymi celebration at St. Mark’s Church in Manhattan. Palla is the Quechua word for “Incan noblewoman.” Inti Raymi is Quechua for “Festival of the Sun,” the Incan celebration of the Andean New Year.

This event sparked my decision to act on a dream I had since I was a teenager, to be a cargo (host) for the Fiesta Patronal of my hometown, where I first saw Pallas. Not only to host them, but to dress up and act as a Palla.

I was born in Llamellín, a village of 3,000 people in Ancash in the North Central Andes, where Quechua is still spoken. In Llamellín, the Pallas appeared two times a year: during the Fiesta Patronal in December, and during the St. Peter Festival in June.

When I was a little girl, I was fascinated by the Pallas. I used to follow them and observe every detail. The way they sang. The way they moved and danced. Their costumes, with colorful adornments. Read more…

PromPeru Expects 50 Percent Rise In Brazilian Tourists In 2012

Peru’s tourism promotion agency, PromPeru, expectes to see a 50 percent jump in Brazilian tourists this year, state news agency Andina said.

Brazil, the world’s sixth largest economy, is Latin America’s regional powerhouse and is increasingly becoming a player on the world stage.

While Brazil’s clout increases abroad, it is also seeing a growing middle class that is able to take international holidays, including trips to Peru.

In the first nine months of 2011, 92,000 tourists from Brazil visited Peru, up from Read more…

Long Weekends in 2012 to Generate $800 Million in Tourism – Govt

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism said Peru’s long weekends in 2012 should generate $800 million in extra business in the tourism industry.

Peru’s government announced last week that in 2012 there will be eight long weekends, in an attempt to increase local tourism, state news agency Andina reported.  The long weekends —which include already existing national or bank holidays— are applicable to the public employee sector, although much of the private sector tends to follow suit.

Each long weekend is expected to generate an extra $100 million in tourism Read more…

Air Traffic Controllers Back to Work at Peru’s Airports

Peru’s air traffic controllers were back on the job Friday evening, following their union’s decision to lift the 72-hour strike only 24 hours after it began.

The head of the controllers union, Alberto Pimentel, said their decision was made to avoid the increasing backup of flights over the Christmas holidays, and agreed to wait until Monday to resume negotiations on salaries and benefits with the airport authority, Corpac, and the state business finance fund, Fonafe.

One of the agreements reached Friday afternoon was Corpac’s acceptance to cancel its decision to fire several controllers involved in a strike earlier this month.  There are 120 air traffic controllers for Lima’s international Jorge Chavez airport, and another 60 controllers for domestic airports nationwide.

Korean Air to Begin Flights to Peru

Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Jose Luis Silva said Thursday that Korean Air will begin operations to Peru next week, state news agency Andina reported.

Speaking at the CADE 2011 business conference in Cuzco, Silva said the initial flights will be between Lima and Seoul on a weekly basis.

“There will be three flights this month, leaving Lima the 8th, 15th and 22nd of December,” Silva said. Read more…

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One Million Tourists Visit Machu Picchu in 2011

The ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, uncovered from overgrowth and obscurity 100 years ago by U.S. explorer Hiram Bingham, will have received at least one million tourists by the end of this year, according to Percy Canales, president of the National Chamber of Tourism, Canatur.

The number of visitors represents a 30 percent hike over last year — when 660,000 people visited the site— and is undoubtedly due in part to the mass Read more…

Rolling Stones Front Man Mick Jagger Arrives at Machu Picchu

British rock star Mick Jagger arrived at the ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu on Thursday, as part of a trip to Peru that has included a sit-down with President Ollanta Humala and a visit to an eco-lodge in the jungle region of Madre de Dios.

The front man for the Rolling Stones, Jagger travelled to Machu Picchu by train from Cusco and was expected to climb Huayna Picchu, the picturesque peak that overlooks the ruins, on Friday, state news agency Andina reported.

Machu Picchu is Peru’s biggest tourism attraction, drawing in hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the globe each year.

Jagger arrived in Cusco Wednesday on a private jet, along with his family, from Read more…

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