Peru as a Tourist Destination - Case Study Example

Research about Peru By (Name) Name of Class (Course) Professor (Tutor) Name of Institution (University) City and State The Date Map Peru is located in South America and occupies the western part or west coast. The country is found near the equator and borders the Pacific Ocean to the west (Discover Peru, 2017). It is divided into three distinct areas with regard to its features and these include the coast, Andes Mountains, and the jungle. Peru has a large population and is ranked third population wise in the South American countries. It is bordered by Brazil to the East while Ecuador and Colombia are to the north, Chile is to the south of the country and finally Bolivia to the South East (Discover Peru, 2017). Brazil and Colombia have the longest boundary with Peru. Most of these South American have natural features acting as borders or the crossing points between them and Peru is not an exception. An example is the Amazon in which the border between Peru and Brazil is found. The coast of Peru which borders the Pacific Ocean consists of a narrow plain and arid land. The Jungle is made up of the Amazon Rainforest. The jungle takes up to 60% of the country's total land (Bushnell, 2008). Andean highlands also known as "Sierra" is the youngest and longest mountain range in the world. Characterized by snow peaks, these ranges extend from Chile and Argentina forming a border between them and goes further through Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela. Mount Huascaran is found in Central Sierra and is the highest peak on the Andes. There also glaciers that are found on the western side of the ranges at the Cordillera Blanca (Marett, 2009). The melting snow on the western side of the ranges is Amazon’s source of water. This western part is also characterized by volcanoes some of which are active like The Misti. Several streams feed the Amazon River and most of them come from the Andes Mountain range in Peru due to the melting of the snow. These tributaries form the Amazon basin. Nevado Mismi in the Andes Mountains and melt to form the Apurimac River which feeds the Ucayali River which is then joined by Maranon River that finally drains into the Amazon River at Iquitos. Lake Titicaca is another major site in Peru. It is found on the border between Bolivia and Peru and has many islands and boasts of one of the best navigational lakes in the world (Thyberg, 2017). Taquile Island is found on this lake. This island is well known for its textile industry. The men are the do the knitting as opposed to the norm. It has a population of about 3000 people and have maintained their good tourism environment and most tourists are attracted by the good Spanish garments produced there (Discover Peru, 2017). With a population of over seven million, Lima is the largest and the capital city of Peru (Bushnell, 2008). It is the country’s administrative center is found near River Rimac and the Callao port of the Pacific Ocean. Cusco, also known as the Sacred City is the biggest tourist attraction in southern America. This is where the capital city of the Inca Empire was. It is rich in cultural items, buildings and the entire history of the Inca People can be found here. Natural Environment The Peruvian natural environment is made up of the coastal region, the highlands and the jungle. Most parts of the country have forest cover because of the Amazon Forest. This is the largest forest in the world and has many different species of organisms (Peru Travel, 2017). The highlands are made up of a mountain range known as the Andes which is longest mountain range with a vast number of peaks. The Andes are the source of the tributaries that feed Amazon River. The environment is mostly green apart from the coastal region which is mostly dry. The coastal region runs through the country from one side through to the other and is dotted with beaches to the northern end, hills and cliffs. The weather of the different regions varies with the landscape with rainy seasons from January to March throughout the whole country with warm beaches at this time (Kalman & Schimpky, 2003). The highlands experience mild temperatures during the rainy season while the Amazon Forest is humid throughout the year. The winter season is experienced from May to October and El Nino appears near the country’s coast every four to ten years almost at the end of the year and this causes severe weather disturbances (Dalal, 2004). Having such information is very useful for tourists since they are able to know when they can visit the country depending on the weather and climate at the time. This information is also crucial for the tourists to know where to visit depending on their interests. Peruvian Society The Peruvian society is multi-ethical and has been divided into three social classes which include the upper, middle and lower classes (Cavallo, 2012). The upper class is made up of about 3% of the country’s total population mostly found in the big towns and cities. A further 60% of the total population is made up of the middle class. These are the working class families, commercial occupations, bureaucrats, small business owners, teachers and other professionals on salary. The other 47% make up the lower class which have low incomes and these are mostly the farmers and immigrants who can be found in the rural areas and shanty towns across the country (Dalal, 2004). The country has a complicated social system and hierarchical values that were adopted from the colonial times. These values have been upheld as principles and guidelines that regulate the behaviors of the people. The Peruvian people have a solid sense of national identity. They show this solidarity through language, food, music and their religion. Before the coming of the Europeans, the Peruvians had one ethnic language Amerindians (Dalal, 2004). However, Quechua and Spanish are widely spoken especially after the country’s colonization. Other languages include Shipibo, Aguaruna, and the Ashaninka. The Amerindians of Indian origin are the native occupants of Peru and are the largest ethnic group in the country. The Maestizo are the second largest group that came after intermarriages between whites and the Amerindians (Cavallo, 2012). Other ethnic groups found in Peru include the whites of European origin, Asian-Peruvians and the Afro-Peruvians who came to Peru as slaves settling in cities like Lima. This diversity in ethnicity is mostly as a result of migrations that took place in the colonial periods. The Afro-Peruvians came as slaves brought by the Europeans and the Asian-Peruvians came to work in mines, railroads and plantations and others came after the 1912 Chinese revolution (Dalal, 2004). These groups form part of the unique Peruvian culture. Catholicism is the main religion in Peru but the country has freedom of religion as almost 80% of the total population are majorly Roman Catholics (with only and estimated 15% of them actively participating in catholic religious services and activities). The other 7-12% are Protestants including Anglicans, Calvinists, Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Assembly of God members, Evangelical Church of Peru, the Christian Missionary Alliance and the church of God. There are also the non-evangelical Christians (Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons). The other 2% are either Muslims, Buddhists, Jews or Shintoists (Cavallo, 2012). The others are either Atheists or agnostics. Peru has mainly concentrated on the importation of natural resources and Fishing to some extent. As much as the country is mostly made up of arable land, farming is not a major source of income as most people have moved to urban areas to search for employment (World Trade Press, 2010). Tourism is also one of the country’s major sources of income because of its natural resources. The country’s tourism industry has been through ups and downs but it has been maintained. The Inca heritage in Machuoicchu, Lake Titicaca, the Amazon River and Forest, the Andes and the architectural designs in Lima are some of the components holding the tourism industry together. Let us not forget the Amazon Forest and River to and also the Mountain ranges. These have made Peru one of the best tourist destinations in the world. The beautiful culture and diversity in ethnic groups are also a plus to this industry. Tourists coming to Peru could learn about their cultural diversities through interacting with the people, they can also learn from researching over the internet, books, magazines and documentaries. They can also learn about the country through tour guides that are well trained and have vast knowledge about the country. Peru’s Tourism Industry Cusco’s impressive stonework of Inca and Pre-Inca civilizations, Lima’s Spanish colonial culture and Lake Titicaca constitute Peru’s main tourist attractions. However, common crime, insurgency, terrorism, the April 1992 coup and the 1990-1991 cholera epidemic have made the industry to drastically decline since 1988. This was the time Peru received approximately 320,000 visitors and 30 million dollars in tourism earnings (Peru Travel, 2017). Due to insecurities, tourism went 30 percent down from the first semester of 1992 from the 70% it had fallen from 1988 when it recorded its highest income from tourism. The country has however put mechanisms in place to bring the tourism industry back to where it previously was and these measures are proving to be fruitful since the industry has grown to become one of the main sources of foreign exchange for the country. The tourists are drawn to the country’s rich and deep cultures and the vast attractions in the country. The countries extremely old historical sites are also major attractions that make Peru an important tourist destination. Inca Heritage The Inca ruins are found in Machu Picchu and are the creation of the people of the Inca culture (McEwan, 2006). It was a vast empire that thrived in the Andean region in the early 15th century A.D. This empire was constructed with neither a draft animals, the wheel, iron working, a writing system nor even a form of currency. They had objects made out of silver but their clothes were their greatest artistic achievements. They had a centralized economy with no forms of trade since every citizen was given what they needed from their storehouses. Everyone was mummified after death despite being leaders or commoners. These features made Inca the main tourist attraction of Peru since it is the most visited destination in the country. The tourists believe that they get a lot of energy from the gods of the Incas (Apus) (González, 1993). Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca is the largest and deepest navigational lake in the world (Thyberg, 2008). A visit to the lake allows the tourist a peek into the Peruvian culture, history and geography. It is believed to be the birthplace of the sun by the Andean people. This region has an assortment of features from checkerboard fields, desolate altiplano, crumbling cathedrals, hills to the high Andean Peaks (Thyberg, 2008). Tourists have a lot to explore during a visit to this lake and these include: boat rides on the lake, learn about the rich and deep cultures of the people living around the lake and on its islands, they can visit the Uros people’s floating islands, shop at the Puno weekend market and experience a folk festival among many other activities. Tour Guiding in Peru Peru has three types of tour guides, the professional ones with university degrees, those with vocational training and the untrained local tour guides (Peru Travel, 2016). Tour guides are important to any tourism industry as their presentations would determine the tourist experience, the time the tourists will spend in the destination and eventually the economic benefits the community would get. As such, the Peruvian tourism industry strives to manage the guides and their activities. They however experience some difficulties in the process. First, despite being trained, they constantly have to know how to interact with the different types and groups of visitors since people are different depending on their origin, any slight hitch might be costly to the industry. Secondly, the agencies or operators that may have hired him or her are not able to oversee the performance of the guide. Lastly, for the local guides that are interested in guiding, a lot of training has to be done and to some extent translators have to be present for any form of interaction to take place (Discover Peru, 2017). Peruvian Postcards Postcards are a conventional way of sending messages of where one is. The postcards contain pictures of the location and some words. The images in the postcards show the diverse physical features and the culture of the people. The Peruvian tourism industry knows that images are a very good way of attracting tourists to any destination and has embraced the use of postcards especially for their tourists. The postcards also show images of the children in their beautiful cultural clothes which are also an attraction. The tourism industry knows the importance of these postcards and has such, they do their best to come up with the most attractive pictures with beautiful children and scenes behind them. Gastronomic Experience in Peru Tourists love the Peruvian cuisine and it is considered the best (Peru Travel, 2017). This is made possible due to the intercultural mix between the people of Peru, the Chinese, Japanese, Africans and the Italians. Some of the famous cuisines include the unique Anticucho de Corazon and the Tacu-Tacu stew and lastly Carapulcra. A large number of tourists visit the country mainly for the food. Close to 40% of the tourists are Peruvian Gastronomy tourists and they prefer coming into the country most of whom do not mind the prices but how it is prepared (World Tourism Organization, 2016). The cuisines are loved by most because of their natural African test. Transport Experiences in Peru There are various forms of transport in Peru ranging from trains, to flights to taxis. Flight is the quickest and easiest in transportation in Peru. There are four domestic routes and these are Peruvian Airlines, LAN, Avianca, and Star Peru (Peru Travel, 2017). These flights connect the cities in Peru. Buses are the main form of public transportation mostly used for long distances. One’s comfort and safety depends on how much they can afford. Taxis are also another mode of transportation. It is advisable to only use registered taxis or fall into the hands of con artists. There are also shared taxis also known as colectivos. These give both long and short distance trips. Minibuses and moto taxis are also other forms of cheap transportation within the city. There are also boats which are mostly used in the Amazon Region and finally the trains that connect the people and Machu Picchu and the Andes and Huancayo (Kalman & Schimpky, 2003). The tourist trains are operated by PeruRail. Other companies that operate trains that transport tourists are the Andean Railways and Inca Rail. Accommodation in Peru There is plenty of accommodation in Peru ranging from World-Luxury hotels found in 16th-century monasteries and high rise buildings. There are also smaller hotels in the colonial houses and inexpensive budget inns. There are small hotels known as ‘hostales’ which also means inns and pensions (World Tourism Organization, 2016). Its hotels are small and independent inns. There are very few international hotels in Peru and therefore one has to book much earlier in advance. Most of the best hotels charge 19% tax on the cash. Visitors are spoilt for choice in Peru as there is always readily available accommodation. The Brochure Re Reference List Bushnell, G. H. S., 2008. Peru. (23rd Edn). Port Melbourne: Moondrake Cavallo, A., 2012. Peru. (15th Edn). Minneapolis, Lerner Publications Co. Discover Peru, 2017. All about Peru. [Online]. Available at: http://www.discover-peru.org/peru- geography-andes/ [Accessed 24 April 2017]. Dalal, A., 2004. Peru. (4th Edn). Chicago: Raintree. González, C., 1993. Inca civilization. Chicago: Children’s Press. Kalman, B., & Schimpky, D., 2003. Peru. A Journal of world tourism, 13(4), pp 234-266. Marett, R. H. K., 2009. Peru. New York: Praeger Publishers. Mcewan, G. F., 2006. The Inca Heritage. World History Journal, 19(6), pp 432-459. Peru Travel, 2017. About Peru. [Online]. Available at: http://www.peru.travel/about-peru/peruvian- identity/culture.aspx [Accessed 24 Apr 2017]. Thyberg, D., 2017. Facts on Lake Titicaca. [Online]. Available at: http://traveltips.usatoday.com/lake- titicaca-1299.html. [Accessed 24 April 2017]. World Tourism Organization, 2016. Tourism and culture partnership in Peru: models for collaboration between tourism, culture and community. (2nd End). London: Pearson Publishers. World Trade Press, 2010. Peru. (5th Edn). California: World Trade Press.   Read More