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Peru tourism industry in ‘free fall’ as Machu Picchu closed by protests

Peru tourism industry in ‘free fall’ as Machu Picchu closed by protests

OLLANTAYTAMBO: Decked out in helmet, belt, gold-plated armor and sandals, Juan Pablo Huanacchini Mamani gazes out vacantly from the Ollantaytambo Inca ruins in Peru.His Inca warrior costume sparkles in the sunlight, but the 48-year-old feels no joy.Huanacchini has worked in the tourism industry at this gateway town to Machu Picchu, the Inca citadel that is the jewel of Peruvian tourism -- since he was a child.But the Ollantaytambo site that normally welcomes 4,000 visitors a day is deserted.Peru’s vital tourism industry has been decimated by weeks of social unrest that has left 48 people dead in clashes between protesters and security forces since December 7.Peru attracted 4.5 million tourists a year before the Covid-19 pandemic.The sector was supposed to rebound in 2022 and 2023, but Peru’s latest political crisis has left those working in tourism dismayed.“Look, there’s no one. It’s empty,“ moaned Huanacchini.Situated around 60 kilometers (40 miles) from Cusco -- the old Inca capital

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