Euro 0.63 - Argentina 3.05 - Bolivia 7.12 - Brasil 1.59 - Chile 520.14 - Colombia 1,923.02 - México 10.37 - Paraguay 3.940 - Perú 2.970 - Uruguay 19.10 - Venezuela 2.14

Iberia will continue to reduce its offer of short and medium routes over the next three years to focus on flights in Latin America, informed sources close to the airline.

TAM will fly non-stop between Cabo Frio, in Rio de Janeiro, and Buenos Aires, Argentina once per week from July 5th to August 9th, with A-320 aircraft for 174 passengers. Currently, TAM flies 49 weekly frequencies to Buenos Aires from Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Florianopolis, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Sao Paulo. From June 19th to August 10th the airline will have extra flights to Buenos Aires with departures from Porto Seguro, Recife, Salvador, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. From July 3rd to August 10th TAM will operate direct flights from Sao Paulo to Bariloche, Argentina.

TAM has just added 2 Airbus 320 airplanes to its fleet, each with a 174 passenger capacity, bringing its total to 108 aircraft in operation, 105 of which are Airbus (15 A-319s, 73 A-320s, 3 A-321s, 12 A-330s and 2 A-340s) and 3 MD-11s. The airline will receive another two A-330s by the end of the year.

The church of Andahuaylillas in the south of Cuzco received financial support from the World Monuments Fund to be almost completely restored. This support adds up to US$ 500 billion.

National Geographic bought the Latin American broadcasting rights for the documentary entitled “El Senor de Sipan” (The Lord of Sipan), a Spanish production directed by Juan Manuel Novoa. The film is based on the history of the Mochica culture, which flourished between the 1st and 6th centuries in northern Peru, their rituals and customs, and the discovery of the Lord of Sipan in the Huaca Rajada pyramid in 1987 by the archaeologist Walter Alva.

Star Peru to fly to Cuzco in the afternoon

Star Peru will fly to Cuzco in the afternoon. The flight leaves Lima at 2:30 and arrives in Cuzco at 3:50. The departure from Cuzco is at 4:20, arriving at Lima at 5:35.

Air Comet increases frequencies for Lima- Madrid- Lima route

Air Comet increased its Lima- Madrid- Lima frequencies to four weekly flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Beginning September 15th it will add one additional frequency on Fridays.

TACA inaugurates direct flights to Rio, Medellin and Guatemala

Yesterday, Taca inaugurated direct flights to Rio, Medellin and Guatemala. It will fly four times per week to Medellin and Rio, and three times per week to Guatemala. Colombia and Brasil will be connected through 18 weekly flights.

Inkaterra to officially inaugurate two boutique hotels

This month, Inkaterra will officially inaugurate two boutique hotels, one in Cuzco and the other in Puno, with an investment of over US$ 3.5 million. The Cuzco project, called La Casona, is located in the Plaza Las Nazarenas, and consists in the restoration of a 16th century colonial house, whose original design and architecture was conserved.

Hotel Paracas to reopen in December

The Hoteles Libertador Peru chain will reopen its five-star hotel in the Bay of Paracas in December with an investment of approximately US$ 30 million. The hotel was rebuilt after the earthquake that shook the Sur Chico region of the country.

There is still time to apply a new sustainable model of conservation and development on the Galapagos Islands, said the director of the Charles Darwin Foundation. The Galapagos were declared a World Heritage in Danger by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) one year ago.

The Canadian government reached an agreement with Panama which will open air space to airlines of both countries. This will allow both the Canadian and Panamanian airlines to “be able to serve any point in the territory of the other with greater flexibility to establish prices, and greater certainty regarding operational aspects.”

The Corcovado National Park is a small area containing 4% of the planet’s flora and fauna species. This argument justified Sansa’s decision to promote ecotourism in this difficult-to-reach sector. Sansa operates daily flights to destinations in the southern part of the country such as Palmar Sur and Drake Bay, allowing tourists who take short trips to Costa Rica and want to enjoy the biodiversity of Corcovado to save time.

Delta Air Lines announced that due to high fuel prices they will be obligated to eliminate or temporarily cancel up to 15% of their services to Mexico. The spokesperson for Delta Airlines informed that several routes will be temporarily suspended or eliminated as of August 18th.

Korean Airlines to inaugurate Seoul-Mexico flight in 2009

Next year, Korean Airlines will inaugurate a direct flight between Seoul and Mexico City. This initiative generated an excellent outlook among professionals of the Korean tourism sector for the increase of Asian visitors, mainly towards this tourism center.

Aeromexico temporarily resumes Puebla-New York flight

Aeromexico temporarily resumed its Puebla-New York flight, announced the CEO of the Hermanos Serdan International Airport of Puebla.

Cruise passengers may begin paying taxes on October 1st

It is possible that an extension may be granted until October 1st to begin charging taxes to cruise passengers, which should have been put into effect yesterday.

New ecological tourism alternatives are expanding throughout the country with accommodations that have nature based activities as a main attraction, and are included in an international promotional campaign.

Coming from Montevideo through the Interbalnearia Route and following the path of white, fine and shiny sands, the visitor will suddenly see a scene of high towers along the sea, but there will still be a long way to enter the peninsula itself. Beaches have traveled with him, just as the yachts and boats headed to their docks. The peninsula constitutes a world of containment for the ocean waves’ force and produces two different kinds of coasts: Brava and Mansa. (Literally: Rough and Mild). The first one is directly facing the Atlantic and is the favorite choice of those who enjoy challenging its encircling foams. The second one delights children and quiet-spirited people. Being an area of land surrounded by the sea it presents a higher air oxygenation and a higher ozone, iodine and saltpeter proportion than an average coastal zone. Read more…