Peruvian tourism loses 100 million dollars a month due to protests

Due to the violent protests in the south of the country, the tourism sector loses millions of dollars a month, the Central Reserve Bank of the Republic of Peru (BCR) said this Friday. “There is an interruption in what is cancellations, unfortunately, of receptive, international tourism, which is estimated at a magnitude of 100 million dollars per month of that impact,” said Adrián Armas, central manager of Economic Studies of the BCR.

He indicated that this impact is observed mainly in the southern part of the country, which represents 15% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In addition, he commented that the BCR branches have reported that there are problems for transportation, as well as interruption in trade.

The BCR official also mentioned that in January the pressures on the prices of perishable foods are continuing. “In the case of the south of the country, what is observed is that shops have simply closed…certainly the problems in the south are generating significant rises in the prices of perishable foods,” he specified.

Protests in Cusco, Peru’s main tourist region, continue. According to the Chamber of Tourism of said region, for each day of stoppage, at least two million soles a day (about 531,000 dollars) are not received.

Along these lines, Jhon Gonzáles, president of the Cusco Chamber of Commerce, indicated that since the protests in the region were reactivated, the losses for the tourism sector, which includes hotels, restaurants, and tourist guides, amount to 30 million soles ( around 7.9 million dollars).

“Tourists are no longer arriving, what is being done is to evacuate them. The access road through Puno is also closed and the recommendation to tourists is that they no longer visit Cusco, ”he said in dialogue with RPP news.

Thus, the businessman estimated that at least 20,000 families living from tourism are now exposed to unemployment until March, since short- and medium-term reservations were 90 percent cancelled. “Only until this fortnight of January, we estimate that 50% of the people who live from tourism have lost their source of work,” he said.

It should be remembered that the head of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), Álex Contreras, reported that, between December 2022 and January 9, 2023, Peru would have stopped receiving 1,300 million soles (about 345 million dollars) due to to the uncertainty that the country is experiencing due to the different demonstrations and protests.

“Since (the protest) began until Monday (January 9), the losses were more than 1,300 million soles, but next Monday or Tuesday we will update the figure. But regardless of the losses, we want to contribute to the reactivation through the Con Punche Peru plan, ”he said in dialogue with the press.