No, not in San Antonio TX , not in Vail CO. According to the Observatory of Tourism about 858,000 tourists a year visit the 15th-century Inca ruins of Machu Picchu.

The Inca hiking trail (about 7,700 feet above sea level) and the Machu Picchu fortress were closed after torrential rains triggered landslides in January after the longest period of heavy rain in 20 years in Peru’s southern Andes .

Peru’s government is implementing initiatives to cut air fares and hotel rates hoping to draw tourists to the Inca city of Cuzco even though the country’s top tourist destination, the nearby Machu Picchu, will still remain inaccessible for seven to eight weeks due to damages to the rail line damage.

The privately owned rail line is the only route in or out of Machu Picchu. Peru`s government will help repair flood-damaged tracks owned by Ferrocarril Transandino SA, a unit of Orient Express Hotels Ltd.

LAN Peru will also assist with an investment of US$500,000 to install a temporary lighting system at the airport in Cusco.
Observatory of Tourism in Peru disclosed figures showing that a decrease in tourism could cost Peru’s economy as much as US$800 million or equivalent to 0.63 percent of gross domestic product.

Tourism is now the largest foreign currency-earner in Peru, affecting the lives of millions of people. The arguments in favor of mass tourism emphasize the economic benefits while we all know that common problems caused by mass tourism include among other things, environmental destruction. DMO’s and environmental groups need to come together to strike a balance of economically valuable yet sustainable tourism in Peru.

I am not a specialist in sustainable tourism but reading that figure published by the Observatory of Tourism made me wish and hope that Peruvian authorities , NGOs , communities , environmentalists and the tourism industry are aware and working on a collaborative balance to preserve the impressive and enigmatic Incan city.

There is some additional interesting insight at transitionsabroad.com

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