Peru’s Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister, Jose Luis Silva, has announced that travelers continue to visit the iconic Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in spite of kidnapping warnings issued by the U.S. government.
Last Week the U.S. State Department issued a warning to U.S. citizens of potential kidnapping threats in Cusco and the Machu Picchu area of Peru. The U.S. government also prohibited its U.S. Embassy personnel to travel to the area. Officials believe the Shining Path guerilla group was behind the threat to kidnap foreigners.
Minister Silva noted that the number of tourists that toured Machu Picchu were the same as the tourists numbers in 2012 for the same time period. The Peruvian government is working with U.S. authorities to remove the emergency travel warning.
