Talavera pointed out that in the first fortnight of February the number of visitors increased to 5,218 as compared with 1,331 in the same period last year.

He said the growth was due to the temporary closure of Peru’s top tourist attraction Machu Picchu and an aggressive promotional campaign launched two years ago.

Visitor arrivals in January rose to 11,320, up 20 percent compared with 9,200 in the same month a year ago.

The official added that most tourists visiting Colca Valley these days come from Argentina, Chile and Brazil; “while European and American citizens visit this tourist attraction all year long.”

Apart from offering the traditional tours to Colca Valley, the Historic Center and the countryside, operators have also scheduled new routes to the Valley of Volcanoes, Cotahuasi, among other natural attractions, he said.

“This fair will be attended by tour operators and similar organizations throughout Europe, and our presence will be useful to promote Arequipa as tourist destination in Peru”, said the OGD representative.

According to Carpio, members of OGD decided to participate in EuroCotal fair, because they think it will be a great opportunity to promote Arequipa in Europe, and therefore, get prepared to tackle the global crisis affecting the tourism sector.

“This fair takes place in June, which is a great month to start selling tour packages for 2010, and especially to promote Arequipa”, Carpio stated.

Cervantes, also said that domestic tourism in this zone presented an increase of nine percent in 2008, reaching a figure of 660,000 national visitors, compared to the 606,663 nationals that arrived in Arequipa the previous year.

The most visited places of Arequipa are its Historical Center and Colca Valley, as well as the Arequipa’s countryside and the local museums.

She indicated that foreign tourists who visit the “White City” come from France, Spain, Germany, England, and other European countries, as well as from United States.

In the case of Latin American tourists, they come from Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, who arrive during this season to visit the beaches of Arequipa.

Colca Canyon Peru - Visit the Colca

Colca Valley, tourist attraction located in Caylloma province (Arequipa), received 120,000 tourists from January to October this year, a 12.8 percent increase over compared to the same period of last year, announced Friday the general manager of Colca Autonomous Authority, José Luis Talavera Suárez.

From the total visitors , who arrived in Arequipa’s valley, 22 percent corresponds to inbound tourism, while 78 percent to domestic tourism, he stated.

Domestic tourism is gradually increasing because people from Arequipa and other departments of Peru are interested to know this part of the country, he said.

Regarding inbound tourism, he highlighted the arrival of tourists from Germany, Holland, Italy, France, United States and Canada.

In adittion, he referred to Asian and Brazilian arrivals, which represented four percent of foreign tourists arriving in the Colca valley this year.