Lima, Mar. 31 (ANDINA).- Around 45,000 tourists arrived in Arequipa, southern Peru, during the first quarter of 2009, which implies a slight increase compared to the visitors received last year in the same period, Rocío Cervantes Mansilla, Regional Manager of Foreign Trade and Tourism, reported.
Cervantes said that the sector has not suffered any impact regarding the global economic crisis so far, "however, the diverse entities linked to this ambit have taken the provisions to be implemented when necessary".
He noted that tourism in Arequipa is experiencing a "good time", in addition to the development of important international events to take place this year, which will gather thousands of visitors.
The Mining Convention in September is one of them, which is expected to bring more than 7,000 visitors from around the world, and in June, a meeting of representatives of municipal and financial funds in Latin America will gather more than 500,000 people, she said.
Arequipa tourism's expectation in the recent years has been positive, reason why it is expected a tourist flow of 200,000 people in 2009, including national and foreign tourists. This figure will represent an increase of 15 percent with respect to last year’s visitors who amounted to 180,000 people.
One of the most visited places is the Colca Valley, which has become the main tourist destination of Arequipa, followed by the Historic Center, where people can enjoy the colonial architecture of the "White City", in addition to its countryside.
(END)RMC/LBH/VVS/GCJ