Lima accounts for 59% of Travel & Tourism GDP in Peru, as the city is a pivotal hub and gateway to the rest of the country, with 90% of visitors to Peru spending at least one night in the capital, revealed a new report by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), Latin America City Travel & Tourism Impact.

Latin America City Travel & Tourism Impact is one of a series of reports by WTTC which looks at the contribution of Travel & Tourism to city economies and job creation. The study covers 65 cities, six of which are in Latin America.

Travel & Tourism contributes 4.6% of Lima’s GDP, a total of US$4.5bn in 2016. International spend is responsible for 35.4% of tourism revenue, and the United States tops the source market list (25%), followed by Argentina (7%), Brazil (6%), Spain (5%) and Mexico (4%).

The total contribution of Peru´s Travel & Tourism to GDP was PEN66.2bn (US$19.6bn), 10.1% of GDP in 2016. The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to employment, including jobs indirectly supported by the industry, was 8.2% of total employment (1,3 million jobs). Over the next ten years, 552,000 new jobs are expected to be created through Travel & Tourism activity in Peru.