Train service that transports visitors to Machu Picchu will resume on Feb. 1, a tour operator said, after protests that erupted in response to a new ticketing system for the Peruvian destination shut down rail access and stranded some visitors.
Workers on strike had been protesting changes made last month that digitized ticket sales to Machu Picchu, according to the U.S. embassy in Peru. As a result, rail service between Ollantaytambo, the village at the base of the Incan citadel known as Aguas Calientes, and Hidroelectrica had been suspended.
The secretary of foreign affairs for tourism and the secretary of culture, who is in charge of ticket sales, said Wednesday that they signed an agreement with the governor of Cusco and local authorities to rescind the contract with the current platform provider and start work on a new digital platform, according to Fernando Rodriguez, Intrepid's general manager in Peru.
According to Interpid's ground operations team in Peru, the strikes are on pause until Feb. 10.
In the meantime, rail service between Ollantaytambo, Aguas Calientes, and Hidroelectrica will resume operations starting Thursday, Intrepid said.
Travelers stranded or rerouted
Machu Picchu technically remained open throughout the protests, according to Intrepid, but it is difficult to access the area without the train, and several hundred travelers were evacuated over the weekend. The embassy said that many businesses in the village have been closed due to the strike; streets, hotels and restaurants around Machu Picchu remained almost deserted Wednesday, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Rodriguez said that the winter months are considered the low season for the company's Peru trips. Two of Intrepid's trips were directly impacted by the protests, the company said. Two other groups left on Jan. 30 and were rerouted to alternative destinations around the Sacred Valley.
Why were workers protesting?
Rodriguez said that Peruvian officials signed a contract with a private company in December to use its platform for selling tickets to the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu, in order to make the ticketing process digital and more transparent. The previous state system, Rodriguez said, lacked transparency and did not meet the current needs of the tourism industry.
The AP report said that "tourism workers and small tourist operators say they do not trust the new system, claiming it will favor big tourist operators in detriment of free competition and small business owners."
The agreement reached Wednesday, according to Intrepid's operations team in Peru in an email, seems to be a step in the right direction, potentially giving protesters what they want.