15:32 | Cusco, Nov. 30 (ANDINA).
The global financial crisis would not affect the influx of tourists to the Andean city of Cusco, which expects a sustained annual growth of 10 percent after the APEC and EU-LAC Summits held in Peru this year, the Regional Directorate of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Dircetur) said on Sunday.
Dircetur-Cusco’s representative Jean Paul Benavente said there is increasing expectation from the private and public sectors regarding the massive influx of tourists that will visit the country after the development of these summits.
"It was remarkable how the "Peru and Cusco" product has been positioned in these meetings, for example, in the APEC Leaders' official declaration ceremony, a large picture of Machu Picchu was observed at the back of the room," he said.
The regional tourism official explained that after the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, Cusco is expected to receive a large number of Asian tourists.
"Cusco is mainly promoted by its culture, archaeology, but the Asian market is not only looking for this but also for fun, and here we have not work on this topic yet," he said.
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,400 meters (7,875 ft) above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 km northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows.
Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1983. On July 7, 2007, Machu Picchu was voted as one of New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World.
(END) LBH/VVS/AVC/EEP
Published: 11/30/2008