oneworld to promote tourism to Peru

It is linking with PromPeru, the country's national tourist organisation, to encourage people across all 150 or so countries served by the alliance's airlines to take their holidays in one of Latin America's most attractive, fascinating and welcoming countries.

It is believed to be the first time any airline alliance has worked in this way with any national tourist organization in either South or North America and follows the success of similar joint programmes last year between oneworld and the tourism organizations in Japan and Budapest.

Peru's leading airline, LAN Peru, is an affiliate member of oneworld, along with its Latin American sisters LAN Ecuador and LAN Argentina and, as a full member of the alliance, Chile's LAN Airlines. oneworld partners American Airlines and Iberia also serve Peru.

Other oneworld carriers with direct flights elsewhere in South America include British Airways and Japan Airlines, with Qantas launching services to Buenos Aires in November.

oneworld's other members - Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Japan Airlines, Malév Hungarian Airlines and Royal Jordanian and around 15 other affiliate carriers - offer excellent connections to Peru from all around the world in combination with these on-line partners.

Between them, these airlines carry 320 million on around 9,000 departures a day serving almost 700 destinations in nearly 150 countries, with the smoothest possible connections between all flights operated by all oneworld members.

oneworld is the only alliance with any airline members based in South America - and its Visit South America pass is an ideal way for travellers outside the continent to travel around Peru and the rest of the region.

LAN Peru serves 13 airports across the country. With its fellow oneworld members, it links the capital Lima non-stop with Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami and New York in North America, with Madrid in Europe, and with around ten other gateways across South America, including Santiago, Buenos Aires, Guayaquil, Quito, Caracas and Sao Paulo.

Each oneworld airline worldwide will support the Peru drive in different ways, with the programme worldwide aimed at generating around US$1.5 million worth of exposure.

Some of them will offer special fares or frequent flyer bonus miles to Peru. Most will carry adverts or editorial coverage in their in-flight magazines, on their websites and in communications with members of their frequent flyer programmes. Others will work with tour operators or co-sponsor events or trade shows.

oneworld Vice-President Commercial Nicolas Ferri added: "Promoting travel to Peru is a great way for all the oneworld member airlines to highlight one of the alliance's most amazing and attractive home countries, our leadership as an airline alliance in Latin America and also the great value and flexibility offered by our Visit South America fare. We are delighted to be working with PromPeru in making the year ahead what will hopefully be the best yet for inbound travel to this fantastic and fascinating region."

PromPeru's Director of Tourism Promotion Mara Seminario said: "PromPeru is thrilled to work with the oneworld alliance, which connects international travellers to the world's greatest tourism destinations. Last year, Peru received a record number of visitors, after promoting the country's amazing culture, heritage, biodiversity, and cuisine throughout the world. The oneworld alliance will lead to sustained tourism growth in Peru for the years to come."

TWO North Anston colleagues have returned from the trip of a lifetime - having raised thousands of pounds for a cancer charity.
Bob Mulgrew and Andy Wellwood battled illness and injury to complete the Inca Trail, mustering more than £6,000 sponsorship for Marie Curie between them.The challenge took the pair through the sacred valleys and stunning towns of the Andes, concluding in the city of Machu Picchu in Peru."It was tremendous, probably even better than we expected," said Bob, of Rydal Close. "I don't think I could ever go away and just sit on a beach ever again.""It's a magical place, and the scenery was stunning. The air was so clear and you could see for miles. We had the perfect weather with blue skies every day. We passed quite a few of the Inca ruins, and the higher we got the more dramatic they became. Some were just unbelievable."The group transport manager for North Anston steel stockists Cogne UK was joined by colleague Andy Wellwood on the adventure.Bob and Andy, who works in sales, celebrated landmark birthdays this year, turning 50 and 30 respectively. They wanted to mark 2008 with something out of the ordinary.About 14 trekkers were in the group, raising £40,000 for various good causes overall. The pair agreed that everyone pulled together to make sure the challenge was a success."Only me and Andy knew each other, but everyone got on so quickly and gave everyone else support," said Bob. "I was intending to do it anyway, and I'd almost booked it before I came across the Marie Curie website."A friendly kickaround with local children ended with a trip-threatening leg injury for Bob."I play football regularly and know a bit about sports injuries," said Sheffield resident Andy, formerly of Kiveton Park. "I could see it was quite a bad one, but by the same token I knew how determined Bob was to do the trek.""Later, there was a bug going round the camp that I caught. I felt awful, was losing sleep and couldn't enjoy the last day in Machu Picchu as much as I wanted.""But it's battling through things like these that gives you even more of a sense of achievement. When we finally reached the peak, it was really quite emotional. We've decided we'd like to do something similar every year."Marie Cure is one of the country's biggest charities, employing more than 2,700 healthcare workers and helping 27,000 terminally ill patients. It provides free high quality nursing to give people the choice of dying at home supported by their families.Almost three-quarters of its money comes from fundraising events and challenges like Bob and Andy's adventure.

The go-to places of the year

So how does one really come up with a list of the year’s 10 places to visit? Taking it from the experts, I suppose. And that’s exactly what The Daily 10 did. We compiled the opinions of everyone authoritative enough—from the New York Times to vehement travel bloggers—to make a list that is updated and will not make you think, “But I already knew that!” We made sure that in a world where everywhere has practically been exploited, the places we picked still have a little bit of mystery and edge. So if you have the excess cash, here are the places we recommend you visit before 2008 ends. Happy vacationing!
1. Ranked no. 1 in The New York Times’ “The 53 Places to Go in 2008,” Laos is said to be “Indochina’s next hot spot” and that “Vietnam and Cambodia are so 2007.” The country has two world heritage sites, Luang Prabang and Vat Phou. A breathtaking view of the mountains can be seen as the landscape in Vang Vieng and the national symbol of Laos, Pha That Luang, can be found in Vientiane.
2. One of the world’s best beaches, the islands of Capri in Italy top Travel House UK’s travel blog. According to them, “The Capri Islands is an amazingly beautiful coastline. It has no beach yet it is deemed to be one of the best amongst the international beaches. The island has ‘bathing establishments’ in place of beaches. It has a treasure of beach towels, beach balls and beach bunnies. The island is famous to host the rich and facilitate them with perfect luxuries and the exotic Roman art and architecture.”
3. Alexandria is a place that is included in many “must-visit” lists. Aside from being one of the most famous ancient cities, this Egyptian city boasts a wealthy history and massive renovation projects of demolished and semi-demolished structures. To top it all off, a series of modernization actions are also being undertaken.
4. Probably because of the teasing motto, “Munich Likes You,” Munich is a favorite city to visit for many a backpacker. Its old-meets-new architecture, museums and penchant to arts and literature are among the top qualities of the city. It’s also been named the world’s most livable city with its conveniences and eco-friendly ways.
5. Cool Travel Guide lists Dubai in their 10 places to go to list of 2008. Why? Because of “reasons most travel writers won’t tell you: Emirati and Bedouin culture and heritage, the courtyard wind-tower architecture in the Persian Bastakiya neighborhood, gritty backstreets, Deira ‘Creek’ views from Bur Dubai, hospitable people, superb restaurants, and a lively contemporary art scene.”
6. No. 2 on the New York Times list is Lisbon. Denny Lee writes, “Bargain-seeking tourists have long flocked to Lisbon, typically among the most affordable of European cities. But now the Portuguese capital is also emerging as a cultural force.” The heart of the city is the Baxia (or downtown or city center), which is being considered for the world heritage site status. Many monuments and historical references can be found here, among many modern reconstructions.
7. Machu Picchu “is a mystical place and a great spot to divinity. It is Peru’s most popular place, so most of you like to see the place. People of Machu Picchu feel that they are the creators of god. This place offers you strange forces of nature that permit the individual to attain a contrary cosmic state,” says TutzTutz.com and secures its spot as one of the 25 wonderful places to visit in your lifetime.
8. Liverpool, the European Capital of Culture, is included in Expedia’s top 10 places to visit in 2008. A series of cultural events have been going on since 2004, reaching its peak this year, and continues until next year. Many travel writers say that now is the time to visit this English city.
9. In an Associated Content article, a writer, RB, states that if you’re going to the Mediterranean, you have to go to Anguilla. “This is a very elegant small British overseas territory located in the Caribbean, east of Puerto Rico. Anguilla is actually a set of small islands with one main island where the capital [Valley] is located.”
10. Finally, MSN Travel thinks that Bhutan is the top place to visit this year. They claim, “Cradled by the majestic Himalayas in a remote corner of Southern Asia, the ‘Land of the Thunder Dragon’ has long held steadfast to its rich culture and Buddhist heritage. Though an isolated locale and high tourist entry tariffs keep crowds at bay, these factors have also permitted this last Shangri-La to keep its traditions intact.”

Peru off beaten track

VICOS, Peru: Far from the lines of tourists that snake around the entrance of Machu Picchu, hundreds deep before dawn, is Fausta Colonia's open-air kitchen.
"Manana van a estar," Colonia says in her singsong Andean Spanish, meaning "tomorrow they'll be done." She points at the three giant green squashes slowly cooking in her domed mud oven. Their skins are beginning to crack, letting out sweet bursts of aroma into the cold mountain air.
As travel to the Andean nation booms, here in the bucolic highland village of Vicos, an increasing number of intrepid travelers, eager to get away from the tour bus circuit of Peru's top tourist destinations are participating in so-called community-based tourism.
Travelers pay to stay in villagers' homes, eat what they eat, live as they live, learning about their customs firsthand.
"One noteworthy trend we have noticed in the past three to four years is that the American traveler has become more interested in 'doing' rather than merely 'seeing' historic sites or looking out of a motor coach," Robert Whitley, president of the United States Tour Operators Association, told The Associated Press.
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Foreign entries into Peru nearly doubled from 2002 and 2007 and visits to Machu Picchu have increased more than 100 percent to 800,000 people over the last 10 years.
But as Peru becomes a prime tourist destination, helped in part by the rising cost of travel to Europe, some tourists are looking for something off the beaten track.
Seattle-based nonprofit travel agency Crooked Trails offers tours to Vicos as well as Peru's top tourist destination, Machu Picchu, for US$2,625 without airfare. Travelers are expected do to some light farm work, a small price to pay for waking up to a view of the snowcapped Andes.
Crooked Trails co-founder Christine Mackay says the homestay generates about US$265 per traveler for the family, a large sum that helps the village pay for school supplies, cultural events and other development projects.
Vicos is located in the Peru's Ancash region, the mountainous department north of Lima, some 11,000 feet (3,200 meters) above sea level. It is a farming village of 5,000 people at the foot of Peru's Cordillera Blanca, or "White Mountain Range," the largest tropical glacier chain in the world.
In the late 1990s, a group of enterprising villagers founded a community tourism project to promote sustainable tourism in the popular trekking area, while sharing their customs with travelers.
"We're setting an example," said Julio Evaristo, 42, Colonia's husband. He wears a black, wool fedora as he kneads dough for fresh bread. The visitors "see how we work, how we value our traditional clothing. That's how we retain it."
Crooked Trails teamed up with the Vicos villagers in 2002, and a year later, 10 people traveled with the agency to Peru, which jumped to 71 people in 2008, making the Andean nation Crooked Trails' most popular destination.
Mackay worried that Peru's tourism boom is likely to bring a wave of "irresponsible" tourism.
"I think that whenever there's a boom, tourism can be detrimental," she said. "I've seen it in so many places, like Thailand and Nepal."
Peru's "tourism market is catering to the tourists, rather than treating this as an educational opportunity," she said. "They treat it purely as economics." She sees community tourism programs as an antidote to the downside of conventional tourism.
Housing is simple, usually mud brick homes, with no heat. But Vicosinos are extremely hospitable.
Beneath the glow of a fluorescent bulb — the house's only electric light — Colonia, dressed in a full skirt of purple felt, laced with silver ribbon trim, unfolds cloths revealing the family's crops: white, yellow and purple potatoes, an Andean specialty.
Her husband, a renowned seed banks expert, and the travelers sit around the family dining room table on a wood plank held up by giant buckets as he tells us about his organic farming techniques.
Travelers trek up the winding hills paths above the valley that are dotted with pre-Inca ruins, to visit the communities' fields, learning to harvest the crops themselves beneath unparalleled views of the Andes.
Vicosinos speak the ancient language of Quechua, although host families speak Spanish, and all Crooked Trails tours include an English-speaking guide.
Colonia wakes at dawn to prepare breakfast in the frigid mountain air, sometimes in open shoes. She makes a fire easily to boil the tubers.
She says her husband sometimes spends days at a time up on top of their land to tend crops — barley, wheat and potatoes.
"I felt soft next to them," said Jon Zaslow, 57, a computer consultant from London, Ontario, who spent three days in Vicos with his wife, Nicolette, in July. "I don't work as hard, and don't think I solve problems as well as they. Their day-to-day existence resembled camping out, except you never get to go home to a warm shower, or go to the fridge for food."

Machu Picchu: Threatened by Tourism?

In early July, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) considered placing Machu Picchu, one of the top tourist destinations in South America, on its list of endangered World Heritage sites. The addition of Machu Picchu to the list has been lobbied by conservation and environmental groups in hopes that international attention would help spur preservation actions.Deforestation, landslides, and urban development are threatening the site. The number of visiting tourists has more than doubled in the last ten years and is now at around 800,000 people. The ruins and the nearby gateway town of Aguas Calientes are hard-pressed to handle the massive growth in tourism.These issues have been developing for years. In April 2004, 1500 people were stranded and at least 6 were killed when two large mudslides occurred in Aguas Calientes. 1400 tourists were stranded in 2005 when an avalanche wrecked a portion of the train tracks between Cusco and Machu Picchu. There is widespread concern that these types of incidents will only increase.Due to increasing international pressure, the Peruvian government recently proposed a $132.5 million plan to preserve the ruins. The plan would restore parts of the site, install surveillance cameras, and upgrade the entry ticket controls. The government has also been working to clean up the Inca Trail and restrict the number of trekkers.Adding a site to the List of World Heritage in Danger is meant to provide immediate assistance from the World Heritage Fund. It also informs the international community of the situation with the hope that the right people will respond to save the site.Ultimately, UNESCO decided to not add any sites to their List of World Heritage in Danger (www.unesco.org/en/danger/) which consists of 30 sites right now.They did request "reinforced monitoring" for Machu Picchu. Under reinforced monitoring, experts will periodically examine and evaluate the conditions at Machu Picchu and report changes to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.The Peruvian archaeological site of Chan Chan is already on the List of World Heritage in Danger. It was placed there in 1986 (the same year it was added to the World Heritage List), due to erosion of its earthen structures.Ecuador's Galapagos Islands were added to the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2007 due to uncontrolled tourism, human immigration, and invasive species.

Peru celebrates National Pisco Day with week-long festival

Peru's minister of Production Rafael Rey will open today the festival "Pisco Surco 2008: Our country, our party, our pisco”, on the occasion of National Pisco Day celebrations to be held on July 27th.The event will also be attended by the mayor of Santiago de Surco, Juan Manuel del Mar Estremadoyro, representatives of Peru’s National Commission of Pisco (Conapisco), among other important authorities, businesspeople and artists.It will take place at 12:20 pm (17:20 GMT) in the "Parque de la Amistad” (Park of Friendship) in Surco.Pisco is Peru’s national drink and is made in traditional distilleries in wineries in Mala, San Antonio, Santa Cruz de Flores, San Vicente de Cañete, Pacarán and Lunahuaná, south of Lima.In many parts of the world, a raised glass is the surest sign of welcome. In Peru, the delicious brandy known as pisco is the best way to invite someone to discover centuries of history and tradition amidst the surprising cultural diversity that never fails to charm our guests.

Intrepid Peru Travelers Veer off Beaten Track

Far from the lines of tourists that snake around the entrance of Machu Picchu, hundreds deep before dawn, is Fausta Colonia's open-air kitchen.

"Manana van a estar," Colonia says in her singsong Andean Spanish, meaning "tomorrow they'll be done." She points at the three giant green squashes slowly cooking in her domed mud oven. Their skins are beginning to crack, letting out sweet bursts of aroma into the cold mountain air.
As travel to the Andean nation booms, here in the bucolic highland village of Vicos, an increasing number of intrepid travelers, eager to get away from the tour bus circuit of Peru's top tourist destinations are participating in so-called community-based tourism.
Travelers pay to stay in villagers' homes, eat what they eat, live as they live, learning about their customs firsthand.
"One noteworthy trend we have noticed in the past three to four years is that the American traveler has become more interested in 'doing' rather than merely 'seeing' historic sites or looking out of a motor coach," Robert Whitley, president of the United States Tour Operators Association, told The Associated Press.