The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism is the lead political and administrative authority for the tourism sector, its role being to define, direct, execute, co-ordinate and supervise the country's foreign trade and tourism policy in harmony with the general policy of the Peruvian State.
The Vice Ministry for Tourism sits under the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, and oversees the General Directorate of Tourism Development Policy, which is responsible for implementing, evaluating and supervising compliance within tourism sector policy. The Directorate also formulates, co-ordinates and implements actions aimed at improving the quality of tourism services, environmental management, tourism facilitation, tourist protection, and tourism culture promotion. The Vice Ministry for Tourism also oversees General Directorates of: Research and Studies on Tourism and Handicrafts; Tourism Strategy; Crafts; and Casino Games and Slot Machines.
In addition, The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism has two Specialised Advisory Bodies, comprised of between 6 and 12 members: the Tourism Advisory Committee and the National Council for Handicraft Development. Two further bodies attached to the Ministry are the Tourism Training Centre, and the Exports and Tourism Promotion Board of Peru. As of 2019, Peru’s Commercial Offices Abroad are operated under the Tourism Promotion Board, and no longer directly under the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism.
The General Government is responsible for the design and monitoring of national and sectoral policies (as is the case for all States of all levels in Peru). The Government establishes co-ordination mechanisms with regional governments, local government and other entities as required and appropriate to the nature of each policy. Compliance with national and sectoral policies of the State is the responsibility of the authorities of the national, regional and local governments.
In terms of tourism, Regional Governments are responsible for: formulation, approval and execution of policies relating to the development of regional tourist activity; qualification of regional tourist service providers; co-ordination with local governments on tourism activities, and; maintaining and updating directories of tourism service providers, tourism resources, and regional events calendars.
The 2019 budget for tourism was PEN 600 million, of which 66% was allocated to the National Government, 17% to the Regional Government, and 17% to the Local Government. At the national level, the tourism sector has three entities: the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, responsible for managing the implementation of policies on tourism; the Tourism Promotion Board; and the Tourism Training Centre. Their budgets for 2019 are PEN 232 million, PEN 78.6 million and PEN 6.1 million, respectively. The Ministry also oversees an entity specialising in the implementation of investment projects in the tourism sector, the Special Commission to Co-ordinate and Supervise the Cultural Tourism Plan Peru - UNESCO (or, the COPESCO Plan), which receives a budget of PEN 13.1 million, representing 16% of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism’s total budget.
