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Peru's Machu Picchu site re-opens Peru's Machu Picchu site reopens
(19 minutes later)
Peru's most treasured archaeological site, Machu Picchu, has formally re-opened after it was closed for two months. Peru's most famous archaeological site, Machu Picchu, has formally reopened after it was closed for two months.
Heavy rains and landslides at the end of January destroyed rail access to the 15th Century Inca ruin - the most visited site in Latin America. Hundreds of tourists, including US actress Susan Sarandon, took the train to the 15th-Century Inca ruin - the most-visited site in Latin America.
Every day the monument was closed, Peru lost $1m (£660,000) in tourism revenue. Heavy rains and landslides at the end of January cut rail access to the site, trapping some 4,000 tourists.
The damaged railway line linking the citadel to the rest of Peru was mended with an urgency rarely seen before. Peru had lost some $200m (£131m) in revenue because of the closure, Peru's tourism minister told the BBC.
For all its other tourist attractions, Peru has had a tough lesson in just how central Machu Picchu is to its tourist industry. The world-famous Inca citadel is Peru's national treasure
FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE class="" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/index.shtml">More from BBC World Service The damaged railway line linking the citadel to the rest of Peru was repaired with an urgency rarely seen before, the BBC's Dan Collyns in Peru says.
For all its other tourist attractions, Peru has had a tough lesson in just how central Machu Picchu is to its tourist industry, our correspondent says.
"This incident with the train to Machu Picchu has definitely had an impact on us… I would say our sales have been reduced by 50%," said Bernard Schleien, director of the Latin America For Less travel agency."This incident with the train to Machu Picchu has definitely had an impact on us… I would say our sales have been reduced by 50%," said Bernard Schleien, director of the Latin America For Less travel agency.
Ninety percent of Peru's tourist revenue comes from the Cuzco region, where Machu Picchu's two-month closure meant the loss of around 60,000 tourists. FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE class="" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/index.shtml">More from BBC World Service
The local chamber of commerce says more than half the population of the regional capital Cuzco works directly or indirectly in tourism. Some 90% of Peru's tourist revenue comes from the Cuzco region, where Machu Picchu's two-month closure meant the loss of about 60,000 tourists.
The re-opening of Machu Picchu is hugely important, not just for Peru's economy, but also its image abroad. The local chamber of commerce says more than half the population of the regional capital, Cuzco, works directly or indirectly in tourism.
The reopening of Machu Picchu is hugely important, not just for Peru's economy, but also its image abroad, our correspondent says.