Peru expects to attract about 2 million tourists to protected natural areas

Ballestas Islands nature reserve

According to the National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (Sernanp), about two million Peruvian and foreign tourists are projected to visit the 14 protected natural areas in Peru in 2014.

Pedro Gamboa, head of Sernanp, said that the number of visitors to these areas has grown by an annual average of 20 per cent in recent years. “In 2013, there were more than 1.3 million people.”

“We account much of this growth to the fact that visitors view these areas as a great place to find flora, fauna and nature, and where good conservation work is done,” he explained.

As an example, Gamboa noted that last year more than 250,000 people visited the Ballestas Islands nature reserve in Paracas, in southern Ica province.

The nearby Paracas reserve was another popular destination for domestic and foreign tourists, receiving more than 10,000 visitors only over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Gamboa said Sernanp aims to sell 13 million soles (US$4.6 million) worth of admission tickets in 2013. Prices to enter Peru’s protected natural areas range from 5 to 10 soles.