Nearly 5,000 tourists visited Colca Valley during National Holidays

A total of 4,726 tourists visited the Colca Valley in Arequipa during the long holiday weekend on the occasion of Peru's independence anniversary, the Head of Autonomous Authority of Colca (Autocolca) Jose Luis Talavera said Sunday.
Talavera pointed out that despite a decrease in tourist arrivals compared to 2008, this year's figure is important if we consider the global economic crisis and swine flu emergency.The Autocolca head said that the heavy snowfall in the area was another factor that negatively impacted the tourist industry, forcing authorities to close the road for several hours on July 27 and 28; "that is why many people had to cancel their trips," he explained.
Buses transporting tourists to Colca Valley had to wait along the road, allowing travelers to appreciate the scenic landscape with volcanoes and mountains completely covered with snow.
Regarding the arrival of tourists to Colca, Talavera said that Autocolca considers those visits registered from July 27 to 29, despite snowfall in this part of Arequipa.
He added that despite health and economic issues around the globe, Colca Valley registered a 11 percent increase in tourist arrivals from January to June 2009 versus the same period last year.

Source: Andina

Hotels in Arequipa / Hotels in Colca / Tours Arequipa + Colca

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Aranwa to invest US$36.5 million in five new hotels till 2013

Over the next five years, Aranwa Hotels, Resorts & Spas will invest US$ 36.5 million in opening five new hotels in the southern Peruvian regions of Cusco, Arequipa, Puno and Ica, the company's operations vice president Gabriel Alvarez announced Thursday.
“The company aims to operate seven hotels in the next five years, all with a very marked health and spa concept which differs us from current market options,” he said.
Alvarez said that the company will build a five-star hotel in the city of Cusco, which will have 41 rooms and require an investment of eight million dollars.
Aranwa will also construct a four-star resort in the Block C of El Chaco – La Puntilla, Paracas (Ica), which would start operations in 2011.
In 2012, the hotel chain will focus on the remodeling and expansion of Casona Rickttes, located in the Andean city of Arequipa, where it will build its second five-star hotel with a nine-million-dollar investment.
Aranwa's 2012 plans also include the construction of a resort in the Coporaque town in Caylloma Province, near the Colca Valley. The 60-room project will require an investment of six million dollars.
The company's last project in this 2009-2013 period will be a 50-room resort in the Puno town of Juli, which will entail an investment of seven million dollars.
Aranwa Hotel Resort Spa is a hotel chain linked to Peruvian Tours Agency (PTA), a company belonging to Complejo Hospitalario San Pablo (CHSP).

Source: Andina

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Colca Valley expects over 20,000 tourists in July

Colca Valley, located in Caylloma province, Arequipa, expects over 20,000 tourists in July, specially during the holidays, reported the manager of the Colca Autonomous Authority (Autocolca), Jorge Luis Talavera.
Last year the Colca Valley received 19,350 visitors in July, and this number is expected to increase in 2009, despite the international economic crisis and the AH1N1 flu that affect the entire world.
Talavera said that these inconvenients have not affected, so far, the tourist inflow to the Colca Valley, on the contrary, tourism increased by 11% in the first semester regarding last year’s.The official also said that sanitarian measures have been taken to prevent the AH1N1 flu in case it the flu is detected in Caylloma.
Autocolca purchased masks for the personnel working at the Colca Valley, besides regularly holding meetings with tourist operators to assume the sanitarian measures as well.
Talavera also said that they have coordinated with health centers to check patients with the new influenza AH1N1, in case it is reported among tourists coming to the area.

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Titicaca, Amazonas & Colca among 77 nominees in N7W of Nature

Lake Titicaca, Amazon Rainforest/River and Colca Canyon are listed among the top 77 nominees of the New Seven Wonders of Nature online campaign, based on worldwide voting for the 261 natural sites in the election’s second voting phase that ended July 7.
The New7Wonders Foundation reported that 11 South American nominees including the Peruvian ones are part of the list.
These are: Lake Titicaca (Bolivia and Peru), Laguna Colorada (Bolivia), Amazonas Rainforest (Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Surinam and Venezuela), Iguazú Falls (Argentina and Brazil), Kaieteur (Guyana) and Angel Falls (Venezuela).Atacama Desert (Chile), Chicamocha Canyon (Colombia), Colca Canyon (Peru), and Fernando Noronha (Brazil), complete the list of the South American natural wonder nominees.
The complete alphabetized list of the Top 77 is online at here.
Candidates in the campaign to choose the Official New7Wonders of Nature are clearly defined natural sites not created by nor significantly altered by humans for aesthetic reasons.
Following the established and recognized process used for the man-made Official New 7 Wonders of the World campaign, the New7Wonders Panel of Experts will now anonymously choose the 28 Official Finalists from the eligible nominees in the Top 77.
These will be announced in Zurich at the New7Wonders Foundation headquarters on July 21 at 12.07 GMT.The Panel of Experts will consider some criteria to make their selection, such as unique beauty of the nominated site, diversity and distribution across and among the different site categories, including landscapes, ice formations, islands, mountains, volcanoes, caves, rock formations, valleys, forests, national parks, nature reserves, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, seascapes.They will also consider ecological significance (both as eco-systems and/or in their significance for humans), historical legacy (relations that humans have or have had with the site), geo-location (even distribution of the 28 Official Finalists between continents and countries).

Source: Andina

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Lake Titicaca and Amazon River top 7 Wonders of Nature contest

Lake Titicaca and Amazon Rainforest/River top their respective groups in the New Seven Wonders of Nature contest, just one day away from the closure of the voting campaign.
Lake Titicaca continues to lead Group F (lakes, rivers and waterfalls) and the Amazon River and Rainforest took first place in Group E, (Forests, National Parks and Nature Reserves).
Likewise, the Colca Canyon, located in Arequipa, ranks second in Group D, which includes caves, rock formations and valleys.
On July 7, 2009 the voting campaign will end to choose the 28 finalists of the contest which will be announced on July 21st by the organizers after the verification of the votes. Lake Titicaca, whose nomination is promoted by Peruvian and Bolivian authorities, is still at the top of its group since May 19th and has become the main South American nominee.
Meanwhile, the Amazon River is supported by authorities from Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Suriname, Peru and Venezuela.

Source: Andina

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Arequipa received 390,000 tourists in January-June period

So far this year, the Andean region of Arequipa has been visited by 390,000 domestic and foreign tourists, a similar figure compared to the same period last year, Arequipa's Regional Directorate of Foreign Trade and Tourism reported.
From January to June this year, 300,000 Peruvian tourists arrived in the "White City", while the number of foreign visitors was 90,000.
The peak season in Arequipa began at the end of June and will last until September and October; that is why they expect that this figure can increase in the next months.
Last year, Arequipa received 640,000 domestic tourists and 180,000 foreign tourists.
Local authorities expected to surpass last year's figure by 20 percent, but the rate of growth has slowed due to the international financial crisis and AH1N1 flu.
Despite global problems, Arequipa expects to receive 200,000 foreign tourists, a 10 percent increase over 2008.

Source: Andina
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Arequipa Colca Valley attempts to become World Cultural Heritage

The manager of the Colca Autonomous Authority (Autocolca), Jorge Luis Talavera, announced he will submit a dossier to the Unesco for Colca Valley’s nomination as World Natural Cultural Heritage.
Talavera said he will submit the document next year, through the appropriate national channels, in order that the Colca is included in that category after considering that it fulfills the necessary requirements.
He noted that the first step to request the declaration began a few months ago when Arequipa authorities signed a cooperation agreement to develop the territorial conditioning plan of the place.
The commitment was signed between representatives of the regional government of Arequipa, the provincial municipality of Caylloma, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and Autocolca.
"The territorial conditioning plan will be ready next year, immediately after we will submit the dossier to the Unesco through national channels," Talavera said.
He added that the territorial conditioning plan is an important document for the development of the valley, which will be implemented with support from regional and international entities.

Source: Andina

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Polish expedition to explore Colca Canyon again

On Tuesday, an expedition of eight Polish citizens will explore for the second time the Colca Canyon in Arequipa to conduct geological studies in this Andean area located at 2,500 meters above sea level.
Expedition Leader of Colca Condor 2008 & 2009 Expeditions, Jerzy Yurek Majcherczyk said that this is the second time they visit the area after their 2008 expedition during which they covered 8 km of the canyon.

The expedition will begin at Cruz del Condor to descent to the canyon and then walk the banks of the river until they arrive to Sangalla, in the district of Cabanaconde.
Yurek Majcherczyk expects to travel for over 10 days so they can explore 10 kilometers they have not studied yet.
He mentioned that they will take paths leading to unexplored archaeological sites so as to conduct a special archaeological study of this area.

Source: Andina

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Arequipa expects 350,000 visitors each year

The city of Arequipa in southern Peru would receive 350,000 tourists each year, according to the Tourism Plan 2015 designed by the provincial mayor, Simon Balbuena Marroquin, in coordination with several entities linked to the sector.
The initiative, to be run from July this year, seeks to promote several tourist attractions in national and international fairs.

The promotion of activities commemorating the anniversary of Arequipa in August is one of the first projects of the plan, as well as religious and traditional festivals held in the city throughout the year.
Balbuena expressed his confidence and said that about 200,000 tourists are expected to visit Arequipa this year, a 15 percent rise compared to figures registered last year.
"We are working to increase the annual number of tourists. We will promote tourism, in particularly in neighboring countries like Bolivia, Brazil, Chile and Argentina".
The plan will finance the acquisition of 20 video cameras to be installed in strategic areas of the Historic Center, with the aim of providing security to tourists and the general public.
Peru's National Police, as well as security service in downtown streets will participate in the cameras installations.

Source: Andina

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Colca Valley tourism grew by 9% in Jan-May period

Tourist arrivals to Colca Valley in Arequipa increased by 9 percent during the first five months of the year compared to the same period in 2008, the Head of Autonomous Authority of Colca (Autocolca) Jose Luis Talavera said Wednesday.
He said that over 48,000 visitors arrived to Colca Canyon from January to May 2009; 39,000 of whom were foreign tourists and 9,000 were nationals.

Talavera added that despite the international crisis, tourist arrivals to Colca have increased thanks to a series of promotional campaigns aimed at supporting this area in the New Seven Wonders of Nature online voting competition.As part of another promotional campaign, Talavera presented on Wednesday the 'traveling bus' equipped with 14 computers. This vehicle, provided by the National University of St. Augustin of Arequipa (UNSA), will tour different districts around Arequipa to encourage people to vote for Colca Canyon.
The Colca Canyon, located in the Arequipa province of Caylloma, moved up one place to second in Group D, which includes caves, rock formations and valleys.

Tours to the Colca Canyon, click here

Source: Andina

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Arequipa promotes Colca Canyon as New 7 Wonder of Nature

The Autonomous Authority of Colca (Autocolca) created a huge worldwide marketing campaign to promote Colca Canyon as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and motivate Peruvians, tourists and internet users around the world to vote for this tourist attraction located in Arequipa, Peru.

The general manager of Autocolca, Juan José Luis Talavera Suarez reported that Colca Canyon, located in the province of Caylloma, deserves the recognition of the award because it is one of the deepest and most beautiful canyons in Peru.

This campaign named “Cañon del Colca, maravilla natural del mundo” (Colca Canyon, Natural Wonder of the World) started several months ago and its main objective is to promote this tourist attraction through media, parades as well as informative and photographic exhibitions.

Talavera also said this campaign has been moved to congress and different exhibition halls.“In Arequipa, we are presenting conferences, photographic and painting exhibitions. We have also carried out contests in different districts along the Colca Valley to promote voting”, he stated.

You can find tours to Colca Valley and other peruvian destinations at traficoperu.com, the online travel agency and tour operator in Peru

News source: ANDINA

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