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Monday, November 01, 2004
Knowledge is Security: Report from Peru
By Alfredo Ferreryos
Back in the 1980's Peru went through twelve years of extremist activity and we suffered hundreds of events-from blowing up of electricity pylons throwing cities into the dark, car bombs going off in some cities near government building and roving bandsin the countryside. Having said all that, tourism faded in Peru after the consecutive capture of the leaders of the two main groups in 1992. Although a memory of the recent past, it is still in the psyche in our society and therefore security remains high but not very visible to visitors.
But extremist activities are almost non-existent except in the northeast of where tourists do not travel and such activities are related to the trade and are not a threat to visitors or most Peruvian residents. The Muslim community in our country is small-mostly Palestinian and Egyptian immigrants from the middle of the last century and therefore we feel we are out of the spin of any future incidents related to attacks from extremist Islamic groups. In fact, talking with guides and people involved in the tourism sector we feel that our region will be perceived like a safe haven since we are far away from the east-west conflict and that people will pick our area for safety and tranquility.
Travelers from the USA are coming back in droves along with the Europeans who really never stopped arriving right after 9/11. Feel free to sign up and you'll find that here it is still peaceful and friendly and that you will be able to disconnect from the worries and stress of the situation in the Northern Hemisphere. Machu Picchu is still nestled in a heavenly location. Tourism arrivals are back up to pre 9/11 levels and hotels and jungle lodges are booked full again so its essential to book early, at least 6 months in advance for some accommodations in Cusco and Tambopta.
