17:54 | Lima, Feb. 19 (ANDINA).
The number of foreign tourists visiting Peru reached 2.84 million people in 2012, an increase of ten percent from last year, according to data released today.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) revealed that tourism revenue in 2012 touched 3.23 million U.S. dollars, up 11 percent from 2011.
Mincetur said the growth in tourist arrivals was largely due to increased air connectivity, and noted that arrivals from Asian countries including Japan, Thailand and Taiwan rose 17 percent year-on-year.
Arrivals from Japan showed the highest growth at 29 percent, followed by Thailand (28 percent), India (20 percent), Taiwan (20 percent), Republic of Korea (10.4 percent) and China (2.4 percent).
Meanwhile, arrivals from Europe increased by seven percent last year, with strong growth from Portugal (14 percent), Russia (14 percent), Belgium (13 percent), France (12 percent), Germany (ten percent), Austria (ten percent), Switzerland (eight percent), Sweden (eight percent), Spain (six percent) and Italy (four percent).
(END) JPC/JPC/EEP
Published: 2/19/2013