by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:25 AM ET, Thu February 1, 2024
The Peruvian government abandoned its previous plans to privatize
the ticketing process for Machu
Picchu after protestors blocked access to the tourist attraction.
According to The
Associated Press, Peru’s Minister of Culture Leslie Urteaga met with the regional
president of Cusco and the mayor of the Machu Picchu district and reversed the
decision to outsource the sale of entry tickets to Machu Picchu to a private
company.
While Urteaga remains concerned about “alleged
irregularities and a loss of $1.8 million for tickets not reported by state
offices,” Peru will be moving the ticket sales to an online platform managed by
the national government.
As a result, the deal with Joinnus—a virtual ticket sales
firm owned by wealthy businessmen—has been rescinded. Joinnus took over ticket
sales in mid-January.
The week-long protest resulted in Peru’s
most famous tourist attraction being almost completely abandoned by visitors
and forced the local government to suspend rail service to the area. In
response, hotels and restaurants serving the region have suffered.
After the government rescinded the previous deal, the rail
service resumed a short time later, but the influx of returning tourists has
been slow. Tourism unions estimated the impact of the protests would cost the tourism
industry about $4.7 million.
During the protests, four nations—United States, Germany,
France and Brazil—issued travel advisories due to the “potential lack of water
and other essentials resulting from transport disruptions.”
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