Peru Reopens to United States Travellers

Peru has reopened its doors to international tourism, allowing guests from the United States to enter with a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours of departure.

Travellers must arrive on a non-stop flights to Lima from a variety of United States cities.

Peru closed its doors to tourism in March as the pandemic swept through Latin America.

The Peruvian minister of tourism earlier this week visited Machu Picchu for its formal reopening and stayed overnight at Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel.

“We are thrilled that we see light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel,” said José Koechlin, founder of Inkaterra, the Peruvian hotel.

“From our standpoint,” added Koechlin, “the government’s decision to reopen Machu Picchu to only 25 per cent capacity is a very positive step, and in line with the push we have been making for years – that over-tourism of Machu Picchu must be brought to a halt, that tourism to Machu Picchu must be carbon-neutral and that protecting Machu Picchu has to be the new normal.”

He concluded: “This has been catastrophic for Peru and the world, but we are confident that tourism in Peru will return to a semblance of normality in 2021.”