Peru’s Tourism Numbers On The Rise
Peru is proving extremely popular as the South American destination hosted more than 2.7 million foreign tourists in 2018, with Edgar Vásquez, minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, saying that vacations topped the list of reasons for visiting.
According to the Foreign Tourist Profile (PTE) study, prepared by the Commission for the Promotion of Peru for Export and Tourism (PROMPERÚ), the number of tourists who decided to vacation in Peru grew 8% over 2017, with a total of more than 2.5 million foreign visitors. Other reasons for travelling were business (15%) and visiting friends or family (12%).
The top five destinations in Peru for vacationers during 2018 were Lima (68%), Cusco (51%) and Tacna (33%). Closely following were the cities of Puno (25%) and Arequipa (22%). It is worth noting that those who visit Tacna enter mainly from the southern border.
The 2018 Foreign Tourist Profile revealed that the average amount foreign vacationers spent in Peru increased from $988 to $1,013 between 2017 and 2018. This increase was driven by 15- to 24-years-olds who increased spending from $652 to $955 in 2018, and 25- to 40-years-olds who increased spending from $819 to $971 in the same period.
The study revealed that vacationers stayed in Peru for approximately 10 nights and visited on average three regions/areas of Peru. This is an increase over 2017 when the average length of stay was nine nights.
