In 2023, out of the 2.5 million international tourists who entered Peru, 1.3 million were residents of one of the member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, a figure which accounted for 52.4% of the total, according to data from the Migrations office reported by ComexPeru.

According to the information, foreign tourists residing in an APEC member economy who entered Peru last year represented a 31% growth compared to the 986,770 tourists who arrived in 2022. Additionally, when analyzing the figures from the period 2004–2023, these increased from 702,104 to 1.3 million, an average annual growth rate of 3.3%.

"While the recovery of the total number of international tourists who arrived in the country in 2023 was 57.7%, when comparing the results with 2019, the recovery of inbound tourism considering only the APEC bloc reached 56.8%," ComexPeru referred, indicating that, with its trade agreements, blocks like APEC not only favor foreign trade, but "these spaces also represent an opportunity for investment attraction and tourism, especially inbound tourism," which depends on the arrival of international tourists.

Regarding the departure of Peruvian residents as tourists destined for an APEC bloc economy, this amounted to 1.6 million in 2023, a 45.8% increase over 2022, and represented a 52.4% share of the total for the year under analysis. Likewise, in the period 2004-2023, Peruvian resident tourists who left the country destined for one of the member economies of the Forum increased from 958,261 to 1.6 million, an average annual increase of 2.6%.

First months of 2024

According to available information from the Migrations office, as of February 2024, out of the 509,128 international tourists who entered the country, 55.8% were residents of an APEC economy (284,279 tourists). This figure represented a 71.7% growth compared to the same period in 2023.

Meanwhile, out of the 567,731 Peruvian resident tourists who left the country, 50.3% had an APEC economy as their destination (285,461 tourists). The recorded figure represented an 8.8% growth compared to the same period in 2023.

This year, Peru will host the APEC leaders' meeting for the third time, after successfully leading the meetings in 2008 and 2016. Established in 1989, the bloc brings together a total of 21 economies from the Pacific basin, including the world's major economies. With nearly 60% of global GDP and half of international trade, APEC has become a prominent global economic forum, promoting economic growth, fostering technical and economic cooperation, and facilitating trade and investments among its members. "Being the host of APEC implies great potential to boost investment deployment, improve the focus of public policies to promote trade exchange among the Forum's economies, and drive formal employment generation. Additionally, attracting international attention represents an opportunity to boost tourism recovery," noted ComexPeru.

However, it mentioned, it is necessary "for officials linked to the sector to take concrete actions to materialize and increase the benefits." "For example, concessioning the Lima Convention Center would help attract large-scale events, which would add to the development of tourism for meetings. Additionally, important infrastructure works are just around the corner, such as the start of commercial flights to the Anta airport in Ancash, and the future inauguration of the new Jorge Chavez International Airport," it emphasized.