In tourism there is a very fine line between being a successful destination and die of success. Kyoto, Venice, Bali or Some points of the Spanish coast, areas so busy that they have ended up saturating, harming the experience of those who visit them. When the great tourist claim is nevertheless a patrimonial jewel as Machu Picchuin Peru, the scenario is nevertheless more complicated.
So much, in fact, that in a year in which he expects break your record Of visits, the famous citadel risks losing its ‘wonder of the world’.
What happened? Than Machu Picchu It takes a risk to lose one of its large presentation cards and one of its most powerful tourist hooks: the ‘new wonder of the world’. This has been warned in A resounding statement New7Wornders, responsible for managing a list that the famous Inca citadel shares with other heritage jewels on the planet: the Taj Mahal of India, the Christ redeemer from Rio de Janeiro, the Colosseum of Romethe Mayan site Chichén Itzáin Mexico, the Great Chinese wall either Petrain Jordan.
The ‘New Wonder of the World’ label part of an initiative launched at the beginning of the century by the company New Open World Corporation, which organized an international competition to choose the seven most impressive monuments on the planet. The firm assures that it received More than 100 million of votes, which allowed them to announce in 2007 the list of farmers. Since then it ensures that its promotion has generated a flow of thousands of millions of dollars.
Why is this status in danger? In Your statement New7Wornders warns that he has been observing “challenges” for several years that in his opinion require a “priority attention.” Which is it? “The high pressure of tourism without sustainability management, the increase in prices in services and goods, the risk of affectation to assets, denunciations of irregular practices linked to the sale of tickets, difficulties in land transport, as well as limitations in conservation and management policies”, enumerates the agency, which speaks in addition to “disorder” between institutions and companies and “repeated complaints” by visitors.
And what does that imply? The organization warns that if these problems are not solved, they will damage the image of Peru among tourists and “will compromise Machu Picchu’s credibility as one of the seven wonders of the world.”
In case the message was not clear enough, those responsible remember that appearing in that world list brings a series of “commitments” of conservation and adjusting to certain “standards.” “The permanence, justifiable and credible by Machu Picchu as one of the seven wonders under our jurisdiction depends on it, which remains our primary objective,” ditch The letter, signed in Zurich on the 13th and signed by its director, Jean-Paul de la Fuente.
What does the government think? The touch of attention has generated enough stir for the Peruvian government to have to go out to calm the spirits. He did it on Monday, through Another statement launched by the Ministry of Culture and in which it emphasizes some ideas. The main one, that one thing is the ‘new seven wonders of the world’ and a very different cataloging as World Heritage by UNESCO, a status that reached in the early 80s.
The Peruvian Ministry of Culture recalls that, during the meeting held last July in Paris, the World Heritage-Unesco Committee “valued the improvement in visitors’ management” and the use of “monitoring and conservation tools” in the site. “We are emphatic in specifying that the conservation and protection of the historical sanctuary of Machu Picchu is not being violated, so much so that it is not registered in the ‘World Heritage List’ of Unesco”, They underline From the Department of Culture.
Is that true? Yes. Among the 53 patrimonial enclaves that UNESCO considers “in danger”, a list that It can be consulted In detail (with map included) the organism’s website, does not appear Machu Picchu. And it is also true that the authorities They have made an effort To protect the citadel, reinforcing access and access control and rethinking The ticket sales system.
However, it is no less than New7Wornders is not the first one that has raised the voice to warn of the challenges facing the famous Inca site. Recently the specialized portal Travel and Tour World It included it in Your selection of destinations that are no longer worth visiting for its saturation, along with others such as Venice or Bali.
Have there been more notices? Probably the most severe touch of attention received it however from within the country itself. A few months ago the general control of the Republic, autonomous body, warned the government That Machu Picchu is suffering a “tourist overload”, a problem that extends to both the citadel and the Inca road network (Qhapaq Ñan). The agency stressed that the excess of visitors is a “risk” for the place and shared an exam that proves that in April the maximum permitted qualifications were exceeded.
What is the danger? Beyond the impact that the tourist massification can have for the Incas vestiges or the environment, the greatest risk for Peru is to fall into the list of ‘World Heritage’ of UNESCO. And the truth is that, although the government emphasizes that it has received congratulations from its commission, the control would seem not to see it so far -fetched in May. In fact slid that the overload “could cause” that the site enters the list. “It should be noted that at the UNESCO commission meeting in July 2024 in New Delhi, concern about the state of conservation of the sanctuary was expressed,” he recalled.
Is there anything else? Yes. Chance or not, the New7Wornders statement has arrived at a complex moment for the citadel. The government only a week ago celebrated That 1.4 million tickets have already been sold to visit Machu Picchu, which is confident in closing the year above the million and a half.
Of achieving it, warnswill involve a “historical” milestone that will overcome even the 2019 Travelers Registry, “Prepandymus year with the highest influx of visitors.” During the act in which the figures broken down, the Minister of Culture took the opportunity to claim the “improvements” applied in the container for the saving system of tickets to “order the flow of visitors”, “raise their satisfaction” and guarantee “transparency.”
It has not been the only occasion when Machu Picchu has jumped to the headlines of the international press. This week has done it because hundreds of tourists They stayed thrown for the protests that affected the railway line of Cusco. In the center of the conflict is the discomfort for the change of the tourist bus operator, a process that, They denounceit has been done without transparency.
Images | Eddie Kiszka (UNSPLASH) and Willian Justen of Vasconcellos (UNSPLASH)
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