PERU: Machu Picchu Is Highest Among "Top 25 Landmarks - World" On TripAdvisor

One of the seven new wonders of the world continues appearing among the most enigmatic cities. This time, El Santuario de Machu Picchu (The Sanctuary of Machu Picchu), located in the province of Cusco in Peru, took first place on the list of top 25 landmarks in the world by TripAdvisor in the Travellers' Choice Awards 2016, overtaking legendary places like the Taj Mahal in India and the Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

TripAdvisor, a tourism website that has more than 340 million monthly site visits, holds the Traveller's Choice awards every year, where they recognize remarkable performance in the tourism industry. The travelers are the ones that pick the best option.

They offer their opinions and comments among thousands of other users, rating quality, service, and satisfaction on each trip.

The Inca Citadel took first place on the list of the top 25 landmarks in the world, surpassing the Mezquita in Cordoba (Spain), the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood (Russia), the Alhambra (Spain), the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool (United States), and the Milan Duomo (Italy), among others.

TripAdvisor's results had an impact in international media such as the Daily Mail from the UK, the Malay Mail Online from Malaysia, and La Republica from Italy, highlighting the historical, cultural, and natural importance of Machu Picchu, and continuing to incentivize tourism in this wonder of the world.

Millennials – anyone between 18 and 34 years of age – are a group on the rise in Peru’s domestic and inbound tourism industry.

This information was published in the studies “Millennials 2014 – Domestic Tourism” and “Millennials 2014 – Inbound Tourism” based on a collection of statistics, studies, and analyses of companies and organizations associated with this sector.

“Millenniums place importance on a variety of factors, but two are particularly significant: when they pick a destination, they don’t choose the typical cities and mass attractions, and they have the advantage of being continually connected and frequently posting to social networks,” explained Peru’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism.

This group consists of young people that reached adulthood with the change of the millennium. They are collaborative and very connected. They like to learn, and they hold themselves to a high standard because they like to be rewarded for their hard work.

They are very travel-oriented and likely to know more about various tourist destinations and packages because of their familiarity with technology.

Peru’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism stated that approximately 541,000 millennials from South America, North America and Europe visited Peru in 2014. 55% were male, 34% were students, 12% technical professionals and 11% work in the service industry.

The average amount spent by each was US$1,086. The aim of their travels was personal growth in line with their social and environmental values.

Millennials make up 35% of the population of Peru. A total of 476,000 Peruvian millennials took 1.2 million trips within the country, with an average stay of six nights and 484 soles spent per person.

Peruvian millennials organize their trips on their own: 45% found information on the internet, 55% became interested in traveling because of the comments and experiences of family members and friends and 43% did not look for information because they had already visited the place.

Most millennials prefer the beaches of Piura, the Churín Hot Springs, the historical monuments of Libertad, Ica and Colca Canyon in Arequipa. 60% are male, 44% students, 18% technical professionals and 16% work in the service sector. The majority live in Lima, Arequipa, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Huancayo and Piura.

The Autonomous Authority of Colca has suspended the visits to the Colca Valley until August 17, 2016 after the earthquake that took place in Caylloma, which affected the districts of Ichupampa, Yanque, Achoma, Chivay and Coporaque.

According to official reports, the quake didn't cause any damage in the city of Arequipa.

Local and national authorities are working on cleaning and unblocking the roads disrupted by landslides as a result of the earthquake. The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR ) would like to remind the public that INDECI is the organization in charge of preparation, response and recovery of natural disasters at national, regional and local levels.

Also, through iperu, MINCETUR accepts emergency calls at (00 51 1) 574-8000. We will be giving updated information as soon as possible.

Lima, the capital of Peru, is leading at the continental level in organizing international meetings according to the 2015 ranking from the International Congresses and Convention Association (ICAA). In addition, as a country Peru is #39 on the world ranking of countries in terms of event organization.

In the ranking provided by the ICCA, Lima leads in international meeting growth, and though it is tied with Buenos Aires, the capital still leads in number of attendees, which experienced an increase of 86% from 2014 to 2015.

In this ranking, Peru demonstrates an increase of 25% as a destination for international meetings. Additionally, the number of participants in the meetings increased by 73% in comparison to 2014, ranking #39 in the world.

It is worth nothing that Arequipa appears for the third consecutive year on the ranking list with 10 meetings, the largest figure of 2014; and Cusco appears again with 5 events.

The International Congresses and Convention Association (ICCA) has almost 1,000 members dedicated to meetings tourism in 90 countries around the world.

The ranking is put together annually, offering destinations greater visibility and prestige to organizers of meetings worldwide, considering just meetings that regularly rotate between countries and have a minimum of 50 (foreign) participants.

The member countries of the Pacific Alliance staged the 2nd Tourist Caravan in each of their capitals, starting on April 5th in Mexico City and ending on April 14th in Lima, Peru.

This second caravan aims to increase tourist traffic between the four countries and consists of a training seminar held in each country. Participants included 104 Peruvian companies and representatives of the flagship airlines of the Pacific Alliance countries: Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru.

In each of the cities, the flagship airlines and tourism board representatives of the Alliance countries took a walking tour where they were able to interact with the business people attending the event.

“A key item on the seminar’s agenda was sharing success stories. Three private companies from each country presented tourism packages which feature destinations within the Pacific Alliance and which are now part of their current travel portfolio,” explained Peru’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism.

The minister also explained that Peru presented the success stories of companies such as PTS Perú, Mava Travel Perú and Fiesta Tours International.

It is a momentous week for the region as new airlines are set to add flights to the land of the Incas and establish it as the hub of South American air travel. Airlines such as British Airways and Interjet, and direct flights between Washington D.C. and Lima will all boost the tourism industry.

The service offered by new flights and airlines solidifies our capital’s position as a hub for South American air traffic. In connection with the launch of each of these operations, PROMPERÚ is making a great effort to form strategic alliances with the aim of promoting tourism activity in the country, said Peru’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism.

On May 3rd, LAN operated its first flight between Washington DC and Lima. The passengers that arrived at the capital around 6:20 a.m. were given a special welcome with typical Peruvian dances.

It should be highlighted that last March, the capital of the United States declared the first Sunday in June as Peruvian Gastronomy Day.

The new airlines, such as British Airways, will offer direct flights between London and Lima, opening up the possibilities for growth in the UK market and in European countries.

The inaugural flight took off from Lima on May 4th. Also, Mexican airline Interjet will offer a new itinerary to Mexico City, strengthening the commitment to integrate Peru with the Pacific Alliance between Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru.

Air travel between Peru and the world’s main cities saw substantial growth during 2015: 3.5 million international tourists set foot in this country in 2015, a 7.5% increase over 2014.

With regard to the events of the early morning of 14 July on board the Amazon Discover cruise ship, which at the time was conducting normal tourist operations on the Amazon River, the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR) hereby reports the following to the public:

MINCETUR is saddened by the news of the Amazon Discover cruise ship and stands in solidarity with the tourists that have been affected.

The Peruvian National Police is conducting an investigation in order to clarify these events and find the culprits.

It is important to note that this hold up on board the Amazon Discover cruise ship was a completely isolated event.

MINCETUR, through the Tourist Protection Network, working with the Ministries of Defence and of the Interior, and the Peruvian Navy and Peruvian National Police, have taken the necessary measures to ensure the smooth operation of tourist activity on the Amazon River and prevent similar events from occurring.