Peruvian airlines suspend domestic flights

The soaring price of oil has slammed the airline industry worldwide and, this week, the problem arrived in Peru.

Two of the country’s airlines, Aerocondor and Star Peru, suspended domestic flights to six destinations - Tacna, Arequipa, Juliaca, Piura, Chiclayo and Trujillo. Another airline, Lan Peru, will continue to serve the routes.

None of the airlines altered flights to the country’s most popular destination city, Cusco, which is the gateway to Machu Picchu.

Officials with both airlines said rising costs of fuel has made the lesser-used routes unprofitable even with substantial increases in the price of fares. Airfaires across Peru rose 10 percent the last week of May due to the higher cost of fuel.

Although the airlines insisted the suspension is temporary “until oil prices stabilize” although there is little reason to expect the situation to change soon. Oil prices surged to record levels days after the announcement and many analysts predicting the increases will continue.

In response to the cancellations, Peru’s president Alan Garcia denied that there was a crisis in the country’s airline industry and publicly dismissed suggestions that fuel costs be subsidized by the government.

The most pressing immediate concern will be the affect to Peru’s tourism industry. Peru’s consumer protection agency, INDECOPI, says it is reviewing the airlines actions for possible violations.

According to Peru’s national chamber of tourism, Canatur, the loss of the flights could affect as much as 70 percent of the visitors to the county during the peak season for visitors. Tour agencies said that the flight cancellations have already begun to affect their business. Many are having to bear the cost of finding new flights for previously purchased tour packets.

Still, government officials remained optimistic, noting that ticket sales for domestic flights are up 50 percent this year.

Fatal accidents mar start of tourist season in South America

As the summer tourist season begins to gain momentum in South America, a number of fatal accidents involving foreign visitors have dominated international attention.

Last Thursday a group of cyclists on Bolivia’s famous “Highway of Death” were slammed into by a Toyota Land Cruiser. One Briton on a bike was killed and eight of the people in the vehicle perished when it plunged over the cliff. Two other cyclists – also from the UK – were injured.

The incident follows the death of a US cyclist on the road April 19.

The highway between Bolivia’s capital of La Paz and Peru drops 3,600 meters in just 64 kilometers. Although paved in 2007, its hairpin turns and vast views have made it a destination for bicyclists with more than 25,000 riding it each year.

In southern Peru, five French tourists perished on April 9 when the plane they were in crashed near the Nazca lines. The pilot, who survived, claimed one of the passengers became frantic and tugged on the pilot's safety harness.

The famous geometric figures and rude drawings scoured into the desert hundreds of years ago are best viewed from the air and a cottage industry has emerged to handle the demand. According to officials there are about 40 small planes that make the 30-minute flights over the lines and air traffic becomes seriously congested during the tourist season.

Peruvian lawmakers vowed to strengthen restrictions on the planes to ensure better safety but just this weekend another plane had a close call when it experienced mechanical problems and was forced to land on the Panamerican Highway near the town.

In the most widely covered incident this year four British teenage girls and their tour guide were killed on April 12 in a bus crash in Ecuador. Fifteen others were injured when the bus struck another truck. The girls were on of the hundreds of gap-year tourists – young Europeans traveling the world in the year prior to university.

While these incidents garner massive amounts of foreign attention they are usually not considered in proper context. Since tourists almost inevitably travel in groups, accidents subsequently tend to involve larger numbers.

Moreover, the standard of safety for tourists may be wanting in comparison to many places in Europe and the US but it often is much higher than regular standards in the country in question. For example, bus accidents involving dozens of victims are depressingly common in rural Andean communities – but tourists rarely use these bus lines or travel to these areas.

Machu Picchu and the surge in Peru's tourism

Peru is more popular than ever. In 2007, the country welcomed more than 1.8 million foreign visitors, a number the government expects to increase by 11 percent this year. The tourism industry represents more than $2 billion for the country, according to the Asociación Peruana de Agencias de Viaje y Turismo (APAVIT).

The big draw is, by far, the so-called “lost” city of the Incas, Machu Picchu. The ruins are - by far - the most visited local in South America and it’s the engine that drives Peru’s tourism industry. More than 750,000 people visited Machu Picchu last year boosting the country's economy by more than $40 million.

With the historic site being named one of the “new” seven wonders of the world last year, Peru expects the interest to increase substantially this year. Unsurprisingly, costs have increased as well. Two years ago it cost $20 for a full-day pass to Machu Picchu and $10 for each day after that. A foreign tourist is now charged 120 soles - about $45 - for a single day admission to the ruins (Peruvians pay half that). And calls to hike the price above $100 are increasingly common.

In addition, prices for lodging in Cusco and Aguas Calientes have surged as well, a trend expected to continue due to the increased demand and the decreased buying power of the dollar. Hotels, particularly on the high end, say accommodation costs could increase by as much as 20 percent this year.

Currently, basic two-day tours to Machu Picchu from Cusco cost between $424 and $1,278 although those prices could change significantly as the tourist season gets going.

One way Peru is handling the rising cost is by promoting itself as a destination for more affluent travelers. Five-star hotels that boast such luxuries as massages, yoga and aromatherapy have become commonplace in Cusco and other popular cities.

::Update 11/04:: According to tourism officials, permits to hike the Inca Trail are now booked through the end of August. Restrictions put in place in 2004 limit the number of hikers on the famed hiking route to Machu Picchu to just 200 each day.

Peru protests begin to take their toll

Almost two weeks of protests, demonstrations and strikes have begun to take their toll in Peru as various groups accuse the country’s President, Alan Garcia, of reneging on his campaign pledges and say social development and working conditions have not improved, despite Peru's booming economic growth.

A recent poll conducted by Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú found that Garcia’s approval rating dropped to 35 percent – down 16 points from the month prior and a full 60 percent from when he took office a year ago.

The disruptions began a week ago when the country’s teacher’s union, SUTEP, walked out in protest of a new law that requires teachers to pass a job-competency test. The teachers allege the law will allow the government to dismiss teachers at will, allowing them to undermine the hold of the leftist-leaning union.

The government has balked at discussions with the teacher’s groups until they return to teaching classes. But, in the meantime, the demonstrations have spread.

The teacher’s protest was joined by a massive demonstration by farm workers who oppose the government’s efforts to establish various free trade agreements. One man, a farm laborer, was killed and dozens were injured when several hundred protesters clashed with police in Andahuaylas earlier this week in southern Peru. (This youtube video may be of that event)

The disruptions have reached the point that the US Department of State has issued a warning for travelers to the country. The announcement does take pains to note that the demonstrations in the country have not directly threatened Americans or American interests in Peru.


Find out more about Peru, South America and my varied interests over on Klephblog.

Technorati Tags: Peru, Alan Garcia, strikes, protests, SUTEP

Machu Picchu and the Seven Wonders of the World

This weekend Peru's famed 'lost city of the Inca's' - Machu Picchu - was selected as one of the "new" seven wonders of the world. Having been there once or twice myself, I have to admit, it is a majestic thing to experience.

For months, the Peruvian government has backed a huge publicity campaign urging people to vote for the ruins in the contest - essentially making it an issue of Peruvian patriotism. But why?

Conservation of the site has been a key concern of UNESCO for several years now. This was illustrated recently when a bridge was built allowing a new route of access causing an uproar here in Peru. The problem, critics argued, is that it would allow too many visitors access to the ruin thereby endangering it.

The bottom line is money. There are more than 300,000 people visiting Machu Picchu each year boosting the country's economy by more than $40 million. And Peru is shooting to see that number increase.

Take a look at what has happened with prices to enter the site. It currently costs foreign visitors $40 for a one-time entry to the site – double the cost from just last year. That is expected to go up to $60 by the end of this year and could be as much as $100 soon. And you better believe the Peruvian government will use the excuse of increased visitors to the site as a reason to hike up the prices even further.

The issue of the bridge is less about the access to the ruins than the profitability of the train from Cusco which, currently, is the only access to the site. Bermuda-based Orient Express Hotels Ltd. has held tight control of the monopoly on transportation to Machu Picchu since 1999. Ticket prices have skyrocketed with demand. The four-hour ride will run you between $76 and as much as $450.

So don't let all the glitz poured into "7 Wonders" campaign distract you, the whole thing was nothing but a publicity stunt and, as UNESCO pointed out, completely meaningless. As the Independent newspaper in the UK pointed out the polling arrangement of the contest were flawed to the point that the Eurovision Song Contest looked like and objective competition.

The future of these "wonders" will probably be better served if they are viewed as the historic masterpieces they actually are rather than an opportunity to make a quick buck, which seems to be the current fashion.

: : UPDATE 13/07 : : Global Voices has posted a collection of Peruvian Bloggers entries on the selection of Machu Picchu to the "7 Wonders" list.


Find out more about Peru, South America and my varied interests over on Klephblog.

Technorati Tags: Peru, Machu Picchu, 7 Wonders, UNESCO