Peru is slow to return, but it will return.
En Riad, ante una de las mayores cumbres del sector turístico mundial, el CEO de Accor Hotels ofreció un diagnóstico sereno pero revelador: el turismo global se recupera con vigor, pero Perú avanza más despacio que sus vecinos latinoamericanos. La proyección de crecimiento anual del 5,8% para la próxima década dibuja un horizonte prometedor, aunque alcanzarlo exige algo que no se improvisa: infraestructura, conectividad y la voluntad de invertir antes de que otros ocupen el espacio.
- El turismo mundial resucita con fuerza, pero Perú observa el repunte desde una posición rezagada respecto al resto de América Latina.
- El CEO de Accor lo nombró sin rodeos: 'una gran lentitud', una demora que contrasta con la recuperación vigorosa de mercados como Brasil.
- Un nuevo patrón de viaje está redibujando la industria: los viajeros hacen menos viajes al año, pero los alargan, fusionando negocios y ocio y llenando las habitaciones que antes quedaban vacías los domingos.
- La competencia global por atraer turistas se intensifica: los países que no invierten en promoción y conectividad pierden terreno frente a destinos que sí lo hacen.
- Perú tiene activos únicos —Machu Picchu entre ellos— pero convertir ese potencial en crecimiento real depende de aeropuertos, carreteras y sistemas que aún necesitan consolidarse.
En una de las mayores cumbres de ejecutivos del turismo mundial, celebrada en Riad, Sébastien Bazil, presidente y CEO global de Accor Hotels, trazó un retrato honesto de la situación de Perú: el sector se recupera, los viajeros vuelven, pero el país avanza con una lentitud que lo separa de sus vecinos regionales.
Uno de los cambios más llamativos que Bazil señaló tiene que ver con cómo viajamos. Los domingos por la noche, históricamente el talón de Aquiles de la hotelería, ya no son un problema. No porque haya más viajeros, sino porque los que viajan se quedan más tiempo: extienden los viajes de negocios, traen a sus familias, convierten una visita corporativa en vacaciones. Menos viajes al año, pero más largos y más ricos. Bazil cree que este equilibrio entre trabajo y ocio definirá las próximas dos décadas del turismo.
En América Latina, Brasil lidera la recuperación. Perú, en cambio, presenta otro panorama. Bazil fue directo: el país tarda en remontar, aunque no descartó el optimismo. El próximo año, dijo, será mejor que este.
El Consejo Mundial de Viajes y Turismo proyecta un crecimiento global del 5,8% anual durante la próxima década. América Latina captará alrededor del 3,2% de ese crecimiento cada año, según Virginia Messina, vicepresidenta del organismo. Pero la competencia es feroz: cada destino pelea por los mismos viajeros, y quienes no invierten en promoción y conectividad se quedan atrás.
Perú tiene un atractivo singular —Machu Picchu recibe cientos de miles de visitantes al año— aunque en el pasado sufrió el problema contrario: el exceso de turismo. Hoy el reto es distinto: garantizar que cuando lleguen los visitantes internacionales encuentren infraestructura, accesibilidad y servicios a la altura. La recuperación avanza, pero el ritmo dependerá de si las bases que se están construyendo son lo suficientemente sólidas para acelerar el ascenso.
In Riyadh, at one of the world's largest gatherings of travel and tourism executives, Sébastien Bazil, the global chairman and CEO of Accor Hotels, offered a measured assessment of Peru's place in a recovering industry. The world's tourism sector is bouncing back, he said, and it is reshaping how people travel. But Peru's recovery is moving slowly—slower than its neighbors, slower than the momentum building elsewhere in Latin America.
One shift Bazil highlighted speaks to how fundamentally travel patterns are changing. Sunday nights in hotels, once a chronic problem for the industry, are no longer empty. This is not because more people are traveling overall. Rather, travelers are taking fewer trips per year but staying longer when they do. They are extending business trips into weekends, bringing families along, turning a corporate visit into a vacation. It is a rebalancing of work and leisure that Bazil expects to define the next two decades of travel. The math is simple: fewer journeys, but richer ones, and hotel rooms that used to sit vacant on Sunday nights now have guests.
This pattern is taking hold across Latin America. Brazil's market is recovering particularly well. But Peru presents a different picture. Bazil was direct about it: the country is slow to return. The phrase he used—"una gran lentitud," a great slowness—carries weight. Yet he was not pessimistic. Peru will recover, he said. The groundwork is being laid. Next year, he believes, will be better than this one.
The broader industry outlook is bullish. The World Travel & Tourism Council projects global tourism will grow at 5.8 percent annually over the next decade. That is a substantial and sustained expansion. Latin America, according to Virginia Messina, the council's vice president, will capture roughly 3.2 percent of that growth each year. The region has assets—natural beauty, cultural richness, diversity of experience. But it also faces headwinds that Peru feels acutely.
Messina was candid about the competitive landscape. Every destination is now fighting for the same travelers. Investment is flowing to multiple regions simultaneously. Promotion budgets are climbing. Countries that do not keep pace, she said plainly, fall behind. Connectivity matters enormously in this race—the ability to reach a destination, to move within it, to access its attractions. Infrastructure matters too. Peru has a singular appeal for international visitors; Machu Picchu alone draws hundreds of thousands annually. Yet the country once grappled with overtourism, the problem of too many visitors straining local systems. Now the challenge is different: ensuring that when international travelers do arrive, they are welcomed and accommodated well. That requires roads, airports, hotels, guides, systems that work. It requires the kind of investment and planning that turns potential into actual growth.
The recovery is real, but uneven. Peru is not being left behind entirely. The machinery of tourism is turning again. But the country is moving at its own pace, constrained by infrastructure gaps and the need to build connectivity that rivals other destinations. The next year will test whether the groundwork Bazil mentioned is solid enough to accelerate the climb.
Notable Quotes
Peru has a great slowness in recovering tourism activity, but it will return. Things are being done well toward that end.— Sébastien Bazil, chairman & CEO of Accor Hotels
The issue in Peru is connectivity and infrastructure. When international tourists arrive, they need to be received in the best way possible.— Virginia Messina, vice president of the World Travel & Tourism Council
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
When Bazil says Peru is slow to recover, what does that actually mean on the ground? Are hotels sitting empty, or is it something else?
It's more subtle than that. Hotels aren't necessarily empty—but they're not filling at the pace of Brazil or other regional competitors. The recovery is happening, just at a different speed. Fewer international visitors are arriving, or they're arriving less frequently.
And this new trend about extending trips and filling Sunday nights—is that actually helping Peru, or is it a global shift that Peru isn't capturing?
It's a global shift, and Peru should benefit from it. But only if the infrastructure is there to support longer stays. If a traveler extends their trip and wants to explore beyond Cusco, they need roads, connectivity, reliable services. That's where Peru's gaps show.
So the problem isn't demand. It's supply.
Exactly. The world wants to travel more, and in different ways. Peru has the destination—Machu Picchu, the Amazon, the culture. But getting there, moving around, being accommodated well—that's where investment is needed.
Messina mentioned overtourism was a problem before. Is Peru trying to limit visitors now, or is it just that fewer are coming anyway?
The overtourism was real a few years ago. Now it's almost the opposite problem—the infrastructure that was strained is underutilized. Peru has the capacity, but it needs the connectivity and investment to fill it. That's the paradox.
What does Bazil mean when he says next year will be better?
He's betting on momentum. The global recovery is real. If Peru makes the right moves on infrastructure and promotion, that 3.2 percent regional growth rate could accelerate. But it requires action now.