Interview: APEC summit to boost business opportunities for Peru

The upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' meeting, to be hosted in Peru's capital Lima, will boost business opportunities with member economies of the bloc, according to the president of the National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur), Fredy Gamarra.

The APEC Economic Leaders' Week is set to take place from Nov. 14 to 20.

"It is a good opportunity for us, in the tourism sector," Gamarra told Xinhua, adding "we can have the opportunities for investment, for joint development."

The gathering will bring top entrepreneurs such as Jack Ma, founder of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba, to Lima.

"Business leaders and investors from China will be coming, as well as journalists, to whom we can show everything Peru has to offer, and not just in Lima," said Gamarra.

Business ties between Peru and China have increased in recent years, with a greater number of Chinese business operating in the South American country, he noted.

"I don't have the exact figures ... but I do know that it (China) is our biggest trade partner and our biggest buyer, and I hope that continues to grow," said Gamarra.

Bilateral trade between the two countries reached 16 billion U.S. dollars in 2015.

Increasing tourism from China is one of the chamber's goals, he said.

"We ... hope that China increasingly becomes one of our leading markets, but we have to make adjustments, obviously, to be able to receive them, in the area of accommodations, transportation and connectivity," said Gamarra.

Peru's tourism industry needs to better cater to Chinese culinary tastes, among other things, he said.

"We need to train tour guides that speak Chinese, and make signs in Chinese, as well as the usual travel brochures and historical information to offer to tourists," he said.

As a first step, at the APEC summit, the chamber will have the opportunity to showcase Peru's attractions for visiting dignitaries and business leaders, and Chinese-speaking hosts are being readied to meet with China's delegation.

The chamber hopes to double the number of foreign visitors over the next five years, from the current 3.5 million international tourists.

"In general, the idea is to double that number to reach 7 million tourists by the year 2021, and in terms of Chinese visitors, we need to bring the number from 25,000, to 150,000 or 200,000," said Gamarra.

However, to meet those targets, it is essential to increase the flights from China.

"There is talk, initially, about a route via Mexico. I hope we have Chinese airlines that have Lima and other Peruvian cities, such as Cusco, as destinations," he said.

Other Latin American countries have succeeded in drawing more Chinese travelers by improving air connections, he said.

A parallel business forum is to take place as part of the APEC summit, which aims to make progress on a proposed free-trade zone for the Pacific Rim region. Endit