Peru announces visa waiver, welcoming Chinese tourism

Global Business

As Peru hosts the APEC forum, more Chinese tourists are visiting the country and using it as a base to travel to other countries in Latin America.

Peru’s president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski wants to make tourism a pillar of the country’s economy and has waived visas for Chinese tourists and business travelers, in a move to incentivize more tourism and trade.

CCTV America’s Dan Collyns reports. Follow Dan Collyns on Twitter @yachay_dc

It sometimes feels like every day is a fiesta in Cuzco, and Chinese tourists are joining the party.

And it’s now easier to visit Peru.

While Latin American and U.S. tourists still make up a large share of visitors to Peru, Asian tourism is growing.

Peru’s tourism ministry registered more than 26 percent of Chinese tourists in the first eight months of this year compared to around 20,000 visitors in 2015.

Chinese tourism is on the rise in Peru and here in Cuzco, a city which lives from tourism; operators are even starting to learn Mandarin in an effort to encourage more visitors from this huge potential market.