A strike is slowing tourist activity at Machu Picchu, Peru's famed Inca citadel, and is targeting a new system of online ticket sales granted to a private company.
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Many shops opened their curtains and the train carrying tourists to the citadel was blocked by protesters on Thursday.
With drums and waving flags, they demanded the resignation of the culture minister and the tourists on board had to continue on foot, AFP noted.
AFP
As night fell, police used tear gas to disperse a group of protesters blocking the street. Authorities have not made any arrests.
Train operator Ferrocarril Transandino said its services between Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu would be suspended on Friday due to the protests.
AFP
“We made this decision to protect passengers and rail employees after learning of new calls for demonstrations,” the company said in a statement.
The organizations are demanding the termination of the contract with the online ticket sales operator, which they consider illegal and which began operations on Saturday.
A local collective says the Joinnus company could generate up to $3.2 million in commissions per year thanks to the new system.
“We are against the systematic privatization of Machu Picchu. “People disagree,” Darwin Baca, the former mayor of Machu Picchu, told AFP.
AFP
The Ministry of Culture stated on social networks that the visit to the citadel was “completely normal” and that “adjustments to admission times” were planned.
“No one can say that we are privatizing cultural heritage. I'm against it myself. Machu Picchu belongs to all Peruvians,” Culture Minister Leslie Urtega said Saturday.
The Ministry of Culture reiterates that the new sales system is intended to control the flow of tourists and preserve the citadel, a World Heritage Site since 1983.
“There is a risk that Machu Picchu will be removed from the list due to an “excess of visitors,” which could lead to a deterioration, said Ana Pena, an adviser to the Culture Ministry.
Last September, Peru temporarily closed three sections of Machu Picchu due to the large influx of tourists there. It receives an average of 4,500 visitors per day.
The archaeological complex is located 130 kilometers from the city of Cusco and 2,438 meters above sea level. It was built in the 15th century on behalf of the Inca Emperor Pachacutec (1438-1470) and discovered in 1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham.