Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism José Fernando Reyes Llanos announced on May 4 the start of academic activities at the Center for Tourism Training (Cenfotur) in the Tacna region. The new initiative aims to strengthen tourism competitiveness in southern Peru and train qualified personnel for the sector.
The launch is part of efforts to decentralize tourism education and create more opportunities for local youth and workers. “This joint effort is a clear example that coordination between levels of government produces concrete results for citizens,” said Reyes during the ceremony, which was held at the Francisco de Paula Gonzáles Vigil Public Higher Education Institute under an institutional cooperation agreement.
Reyes said, “This space will bring quality technical study opportunities closer to young people and workers from this part of the country, promoting employability, entrepreneurship, and strengthening tourism in the region.” He also announced that Cenfotur’s Tacna branch will offer free training to 200 professionals and workers as part of its Skills Strengthening Plan. These trainings will focus on innovation in business models, service quality, experience design, and technical specialization through both face-to-face and virtual formats.
Starting August 17, young people and adults from southern Peru can enroll in Cenfotur Tacna’s Hotel Management Studies Program with up to 90 available spots. The event included a commemorative plaque unveiling, a tour of academic facilities, and a cocktail-making demonstration led by instructor Juan Carlos Gómez. Several officials attended including Graciela Seminario (national head of Cenfotur), César Ibañez (director at Francisco de Paula Gonzáles Vigil Institute), Jaime Carpio (regional manager), Yuri Mesa (regional director of education), among others.
As part of his visit to Tacna, Reyes toured export companies La Noria—an olive producer—and Vallesur—an olive oil company—to learn about their production processes. Vallesur received co-financing from Mincetur’s Internationalization Support Program in 2021 while La Noria benefited from commercial promotion actions by PromPerú. Later he visited Don Miguel winery which produces pisco, wine, macerated spirits, offers guided tours and tastings; it is one of five wineries forming part of “Pisco Routes,” an initiative by the Vice Ministry aimed at promoting Peruvian pisco as a wine tourism reference point.
According to the official website, the Ministry contributes to cultural progress by fostering sustainable tourism with social inclusion across Peru’s communities. The Ministry belongs to Peru’s Executive Branch with sector-specific autonomy according to its official site. It advances national strategies for foreign trade expansion through collaboration with entities like PromPerú as reported on its website.
