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Protests that paralyzed tourism at Peru’s famous Inca citadel for six days, Machu Picchu, have been called off after an agreement between the government and residents, both said Wednesday.
The strike began after the government’s decision to privatize ticket sales for the country’s most visited site and led to the evacuation of some 1,200 tourists through the exercise after getting caught up in the protests, some without even setting eyes on the old site
“We have the good news that the strike has been lifted,” Culture Minister Leslie Urteaga told RRP radio, adding that the deal to transfer ticket sales to a personal company would be cancelled.
The spokesman for the neighbors, Darwin Baca, showed the resolution to “lift the indefinite strike”, resume business activity in the surroundings and lift the blockade of the railway that leads to Machu Picchu.
“Tourism is normalizing,” he added.
Official calculations show the strike lead to daily losses of $263,000.
The new ticketing system was billed by the culture ministry as a means to control visitor flow at the popular historic site and curb corruption with regards to in-person ticket sales.
Peruvian company Joinnus started the online ticketing operation on Jan. 20 and expects to maintain the rate until August.
The government and citizens agreed that the sale of price tickets would continue as long as there was a “transition process” to a new government-run platform.
“Everything possible is being done to break with a mafia that abuses illegal ticket sales and we are going to back down on the desire to replace this style of corruption,” said Culture Ministry chief of staff Alberto Otálora.
In January last year, Machu Picchu was closed for 25 days due to protests against the impeachment and arrest of then-President Pedro Castillo.
And last September, Peru temporarily closed three sectors of the site due to the impact of the increased volume of visitors.
Located northwest of the city of Cusco, Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century at an elevation of 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) by order of the Inca ruler Pachacutec.
It is considered a marvel of architecture and engineering and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
Tourism is key to Peru’s economy, as the country was attracting around 4. 5 million people a year before the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
The number of entrances to the citadel has risen to 4,500 as of this month, up from a previous high of 3,800.
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