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.

Since 1987, PTM has been a meeting point between Peruvian government officials and tour operators from all over the world, which has yielded positive results for the development of tourism in the Andean country.

Peru Travel Mart is organized and sponsored by Peru’s Export and Tourism Promotion Board (PromPerú) and Peru’s National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur).

This year’s edition of PTM will show visitors the various and fascinating tourist attractions within the cities of Arequipa, Cajamarca and Iquitos.

Event organizers said they will take advantage of this opportunity to promote ecological, adventure, cultural and rural community tourism. Click here to see PTM 2009’s presentation.