Cuzco, the historic capital of the Inca empire near Machu Picchu lives almost entirely from international tourism and is suffering the worst crisis in its recent history.
But the arrival of the novel coronavirus in March and travel restrictions turned Cuzco, which received more than 1.8 million international visits annually, into a near ghost town.
Fredy Deza, Cuscoโs regional director of tourism, said there are 8,000 tour guides in the region who do not have access to these benefits.
At the moment, 129 Cuzco guides and artisans have received grants of $830 for guides and $415 for artisans, according to official data.
Tourism entrepreneurs in Cuzco believe things could normalize in 2022, but expect that in 2021 they will barely reach 30% of what they earned in 2019.