Plans in the Making for International Tour Operators´ Meeting in Peru

Peru´s National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR) announced the country will be home to this year´s Latin Travel Mart with a much-anticipated turnout of 1,200 travel agencies from around the world.

The event´s international organizers have already paid a visit to Lima, as well as to all venues and hotels. CANATUR President Carlos Canales told state-run news agency Andina that the meeting will take place in September 2005.

The gathering -he added- offers a multitude of benefits, especially in the attempt to spread the tourist values that Peru has to offer among representatives of foreign travel agencies.

"Attendants to the event -some of them know too little about Peru- are going to learn about our country and already have the intention to include of all Peru´s allures in their marketing plans and advertise Lima as a city for congresses and events," Mr. Canales went on to explain.

The nation´s Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Alfredo Ferrero, pointed out that Peru will definitely reach the one-million-tourist milestone this year for a staggering 12 percent increase.

Mr. Ferrero says that with this goal locked in the crosshairs for quite some time now, his office has been working on better air connections throughout negotiations that include the arrival of more airlines, especially from Europe and the U.S.

The endeavor also pursues to strengthen the country´s image as a luring destination for some of the world´s major tourist-sending markets and develop top-notch hotel infrastructure in order to meet an increasingly larger number of sunbathers.

Mr. Ferrero noted Peru´s travel industry soared 23.6 percent in the first month of the year alone, while the number of foreigners that entered the country through the Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima shot up 17.1 percent in the first quarter of 2004.