Peru wants neighbors to become “border tourists”

LIMA, Peru – For many Ecuadorian and Chilean tourists, the cities of Tumbes and Tacna (respectively) are the gateways to a number of diverse destinations in the interior of the country.

Because of that, Magali Silva, Minister of Exterior Commerce and Tourism, has announced the implementation of a new campaign that seeks to promote tourism in the border regions near Chile and Ecuador in order to increase the flow of visitors from those areas.

Silva highlighted that the goal of this campaign is to “improve the presence of foreign visitors from Ecuadorian cities like Guayaquil, Cuenca, Machala, and Loja, and from the Chilean cities of Arica, Iquique, and Antofagasta.”

Tumbes, the northern department, is the entryway for many tourists from Ecuador, our neighbor to the north, and contains a number of different natural attractions, such as the Manglares National Sanctuary, home of the famous Tumbes crocodile.

Furthermore, there’s Puerto Pizarro and Punta Sal, some of the best beaches of the area, and Santa Cruz, the site where Pizarro began the conquest of Peru, as well as the archaeological sites of Cabeza de Vaca and The Tumpis Fort.

The city of Tacna is a symbol of Peruvian resistance, and it has a rich history that goes all the way back to the beginning of the Peruvian Republic. In Tacna, there are such varied attractions as the Cathedral, which was constructed by Gustave Eiffel, the house of Jorge Basadre, and the famous Arco Parabolico, which was constructed in honor of the heroes of the War of the Pacific.

Around the city, you can visit the Miculla Petroglyphs, that have images that date back to 500 AD, as well as the the Museum of the Defenders, and town of Pocollay and Calientes, a rural village famous for its hot springs.