COOPERATION OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC IN THE PERUVIAN THERMALISM FOR TOURIST ENDS

In October last year began the studies of technical and economic feasibility for the use of thermal and mineral waters with tourist purposes in Peru, and especially in Cajamarca, through the cooperation that the Government of the Czech Republic grants as part of the Foreign Assistance Program

The "Development of the Thermal and Mineral Waters in Peru" will allow to carry out this studies in the fields of the balneology and the thermalism for tourist aims, the bottled production of mineral water and the geration of geothermal energy.

According to the information of the Peruvian Embassy in the Czech Republic, the mentioned project that accounts to 450 thousand dollars, will conclude in 2007 and its last stage comprises the realization of an international workshop to diffuse and to promote the three investment options among the European countries.

Peru has a great quantity of mineral-medicinal and thermal sources all over the whole country. According to the Geologic and Mining Metallurgist Institute(INGEMMET), Peru possesses more than 400 sources of mineral-medicinal and thermal water.

The scientific and technical assistance of the central european country has as main objective the sustainable use of these hydric resources and the investment winning for its development.

With the approval of this project, Peru will receive from the Czech Republic, by second consecutive year, the assistance of non reimbursable character for the development. Last year for the first time our country benefitted from the Foreign Assistance Program of this Central European Republic, since it was constituted in 1993.

This important decision of the Czech Republic is a recognition to the efforts of the Peruvian Government in its fight against the poverty, the employment generation and the support to the decentralization and regionalización.

Since year 1998 the National Direcction of Tourist Development, is developing a supervision program of the medicinal and mineral water sources at a national level, directed to know the current situation in which is the resource.

LEGAL FRAMING

In Peru, since 1992 the Decreto Ley Nº 25533 was approved and later on in the year 1994 the respective Regulation was approved and the former Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Integration and Commercial International Negotiations, currently Ministry of External Trade and Tourism, was entrusted with the evaluation of the applications for the grant of the tourist use of mineral ? medicinal waters sources.

On the other hand, in June of 1992, in the framing of Cooperación Agreement between Peru - Czech Republic and thanks to the efforts of Mr. Raúl Diez Canseco Terry, First Vice-president of the Republic and Minister of Foreing Trade and Tourism, the Committee for the Development of the Thermalism in Peru, had the advice of the expert Tomas Vylita and Martín Keprta who supervised the mineral-medicinal waters located in the Basin of the Vilcanota River(Cusco), Aguas Calientes ? La Raya(limit between the departments of Cusco and Puno), district of Aguas Calientes(Cusco), Baths of the Inca and Yumagual (Cajamarca).

The Czech experts emphasized the potentiality of the country in the field of the thermalism, mainly due to the variety and quality of the waters. Also they recommended to support the development of pilot programs, giving priority to those affecting the Cajamarca area. At the present, the waters from the thermal-mineral sources find use in several modalities that range from the local population's primary necessities to tourist facilities of varied level, even there are water sources of local use and turist aims, without development.

Finally to point out that the Vice-minister of Tourism considers as a high-priority to promote the development of the thermal resources of the country under a new vision, transforming them into a component of the tourist offer able to attract significant flows of visitors, generating economic benefits and employment in the communities where located.

TERMAS WORLD AGENCY