A change in the sale of tickets to Machu Picchu puts Peru’s tourism on alert

The decision to sell tickets to Machu Picchu, Peru, virtually through a platform financed with private capital which already markets other sites of cultural or archaeological interest, generates these days debates and confrontations between the Peruvian Ministry of Culture – promoter of the initiative – and different tour operators and inhabitants of the town who sense this decision as a first step to “privatize” the archaeological site.

The conflict began when the Ministry of Culture reported that as of December 20 it would begin through the platform tuboleto.cultura.pe the pass sales to the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, which includes the entrance to the Inca citadel or llaqta and the Inca Trail.

The tour operators and inhabitants of the town of Machu Picchu considered that this measure constitutes the anteroom to “privatize” the archaeological site and carried out different demands that pushed the culture organization to postpone the implementation of the plan until December 27 with the argument of complying with “a brief time of recognition and familiarity with the new platform, in response to the demand of the formal tourism sector.”

“The idea is improve cultural management, the administration. In no way privatize the administration or management of our main tourist and cultural site in the country,” the Minister of Culture, Leslie Urteaga, clarified to local media.

However, the controversy generated internal fissures in the Ministry that led to the resignation of the director of Culture of Cuscoarchaeologist Maritza Candia, who maintained that she was leaving the position due to her “total disagreement” with Urteaga’s “highly centralist management,” as she noted in a letter sent to the minister and reproduced by Peruvian media.

Different unions and organizations have added their objections in recent days, including the Management Unit of the Historical Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (UGM), whose spokespersons assure that it is a new case of monopolization of the tourism sector that will affect the interests of the population and local operators.

In parallel, workers from the Disconcerted Directorate of Culture (DDC) of Cusco went on strike and announced to “radicalize” their protest measures in case the agreement with the Joinnus company is not annulled.

In communication with the newspaper El Comercio, Berner Caballero, president of the Cusco Chamber of Tourism, said that the current virtual ticket purchasing system “is a headache” and What currently exists is “mistreatment of tourists.” that comes with the desire to know Machu Picchu”.

He clarified that the current website – operated by the Disconcerted Directorate of Culture of Cuzco – is “obsolete”.

“Regardless of whoever the company is, it is a service. Machu Picchu is not being privatized. They are saying that we are selling it to a third party. It is not a privatization for a simple reason, because the administration of Llaqta will not be lost. They (Joinnus) are providing a service that will be administered by Mincul,” Caballero explained.

In parallel, the Ministry of Culture came out to clarify that 1,000 entries They will continue to be sold directly in the windows in the town located on the slopes of the mountain where the archaeological site is located.

The platform chosen to channel the virtual sale, tubeleto.cultura.pe, has been operating since October with others spaces of archaeological interestsuch as the Kuélap Monumental Archaeological Zone or the De Chan Chan Site Archaeological Complex and Museum.