Over 500,000 foreign tourists visited Peru in the first three months of this year, reported Pablo López de Romaña, the Andean country's vice minister of tourism.
When compared to the first three months of 2007, Peru saw a 12.3 percent increase to 502,942 foreigners visiting the City of Kings and the recently nominated world wonder.
In a national police conference focused on increasing safety for tourists in Peru, the vice minister also stated that tourism had generated $2 billion in 2007, showing a 24.7 percent increase when compared to 2006.
"We have the necessary potential to place ourselves among the world's top ten destinations," said the vice minister, explaining that Peru was a country where tourists stayed for long periods of time and spent important quantities of money.
He added that reports issued by Prom Peru, the country's tourism promotion agency, showed that the Andean nation was ranked third among the countries in Latin America which received the greatest quantities of tourism-generated dollars.
It was reported that only tourism in Mexico and Brazil generated more money than tourism in Peru.
Tourism is the best tool we have to fight poverty, affirmed López de Romaña, stating that the ministry of tourism would continue working on attracting tourists that spend significant amounts of money.
"We don't need million of tourists, just an important and sustained number that will generate economic movement for the country's neediest," said the vice minister.
