The archaeological site of Ventarron, a 4,000-year old temple with painted murals in Lamballeque region, has been included in the Moche Route to enhance tourism in northern Peru.
According to data from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur), Lambayeque’s top five tourist destinations recorded a decline in inbound tourists last year.
Designed to experience the highlights of the North, Moche Route is a tour to visit the most important archaeological sites of Pre-Incan civilizations Moche (Mochica) and Chimu and, according to Mincetur, this area saw a decline of visitors in 2013.
For instance, Tucume welcomed 10.063 travelers in 2012, a figure that dropped to 8,406 visitors the following year.
Likewise, 19,451 foreign tourists attended the Royal Tombs Museum in 2013, down from 20,133 in 2012. A similar situation is observed in the Pomac Forest Historical Sanctuary, as well as in Brüning and Sican museums.
The fewer number of visitors is in partly due to the poor sanitation conditions and inadequate road infrastructure seen in Lambayeque and Chiclayo, according to both tour operators and local archaeologists.
This situation is expected to be reversed due to the recent official inclusion of Huaca Ventarron to the Moche Route tourist circuit.
Most museum directors and local authorities agree that this new tourist destination will prompt foreign visitors stay longer.
(END) RMB/RMB
Published: 8/24/2014