The violent political protests and unrest which began in December has adversely affected the tourism industry in Peru making the country’s post-pandemic tourism recovery difficult. The protests and media attention received by it has affected Peru’s image as a global tourist destination putting the country’s competitiveness as a tourist destination is at risk.

Already the country’s tourism sector has seen cancellation of around 60 percent of travel bookings for the first half of the year, according to Reuters. Train service to Machu Picchu, the country’s most popular tourist attraction, has had repeated cancellations due to the protests.

The December protests cost Peru an estimated $450 million of tourism income, said National Chamber of Tourism of Peru Executive Director Tito Alegría.

The disruptions caused nearly 1.8 million people across the country to stop their tourist activities, operations or travel plans, according to Peru’s National Chamber of Tourism.

The U.S. — a top inbound market for Peru — advised its citizens to reconsider travel to the country because of crime and to exercise increased caution due to civil unrest.

Adding more pain to the industry, protesters have targeted tourist hotspots to win international attention and undermine the government.

The unrest hits Peru as its tourism sector tries to make a comeback from the pandemic. The number of international arrivals to the country dropped from 5.3 million in 2019 to 1.1 million in 2020. International tourist expenditures dropped from $1.5 billion in 2019 to $938 million in 2020.

The South American country has been grappling with a destructive political crisis. On December 7, left-wing President Pedro Castillo was impeached and arrested after he attempted to dissolve the country’s national legislative body. Castillo’s vice president, Dina Boluarte, was sworn in as the new president on the same day.

In the following week, large-scale violent demonstrations over Castillo’s removal broke out across the country, with protesters demanding new general elections, Boluarte’s resignation, Castillo’s release or Congress’ dissolution. The protests have resulted in 28 deaths and more than 600 injuries, according to infobae, which provides news centered on Latin America.

While the violence has dissipated but the civil unrest and the media attention has not. Heading into 2023, the worry is that the images of Peru’s civil unrest will stay in the international media spotlight, said Torrens.

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