The city of Lima is settled in the coast of the Pacific Ocean, in the center of the country and even though it was initially founded in the valley of the river Rimac, nowadays it covers broad desert areas and other valleys, this fact makes Lima one of the biggest cities in the world over a desert.

It is settled at an altitude of 101 meters over the sea level with an ambient temperature which varies from 12ºC in winter to 27ºC in summer which turns it into a coastal city with a relatively template climate, it has a relative humidity that oscillates between 80% and 100% throughout the year, so the seasons become more sensitive, especially the cold one.

Lima concentrates more than 75% of the industrial production of the country and it is its financial center. It hosts almost a third part of its total population, so it reflects the big ethnic and cultural diversity of the country.

It has approximately 8 million inhabitants. In the decade of the 60s started an internal migration motivated by the search for better life and income conditions. In three decades the population has been more than doubled.

Economic Outlook - Peru

Peru has been showing positive indicators of economic growth since 2003. As a result of the positive investment climate and the commitment of the national government to maintain economic stability, Standard & Poor's Peru has upgraded Peru to the investment grade status.

Following the trend of the previous years, the growth in 2008 has been signed by a generalized growth of all the components of the internal demand, in particular of the private consumption and private investment.

Between 2004 and 2007 the economic activity has had elevated and growing rates, going from a growth rate of 5.2% in 2004 to 9.0% in 2007. In 2007, the economic activity registered a growth in real terms of 9.0%, the highest in the last ten years. It is expected that the positive economic performance of the last years will have a positive effect on the labor market performance and will be reflected in the real salaries and the unemployment rate.

The growth of 2007 has had a strong influence of record international prices of minerals and metals.

In spite of the good macroeconomic performance, underemployment and poverty have been kept persistently high. Growth perspectives depend on exports of minerals, textiles, agriculture and for the mega project of natural gas Camisea among other energetic projects.

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About the Authors

Graciana García Iribarne, Managing Director of HVS Lima, Managing Director of HVS Buenos Aires, Vice President of SAHIC. Graciana's career started in 1992 at the Caesar Park Buenos Aires (Westin Hotel). In 1998, she traveled to Europe and worked at the Caux Palace (Montreaux) adding to her knowledge the recognized expertise and excellence of the Swiss hotel school.  Back in Argentina, she worked for renowned hotel chains, such as Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts. In year 2002, she joined HVS, and in March 2008, following her successful leadership of diverse development projects in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Uruguay, Graciana became the Managing Director of HVS Buenos Aires. With the recent office opening in Peru, Graciana expanded her role also as the Managing Director of HVS Lima.

Arturo García Rosa, Senior Partner of HVS Global Hospitality Services, President of HVS Argentina, President of HVS Peru, and President of SAHIC. Arturo has been working in the domestic and international hospitality industry for more than 30 years. His wide range of publications and papers serve as testimony of his continuous update of his broad knowledge and overall vision of the industry. For 11 years he was Managing Director of the Alvear Palace Hotel, leading the project that allowed Buenos Aires to recover one of its finest hotels, creating the first national deluxe management. He is the founder of Destino Argentina and the author of the Argentina 2010 Tourism Plan. His professional activity is nowadays focused on the consolidation of HVS presence in the main South American markets and on the expansion to new Latin American markets. The South American Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (SAHIC) is aligned with this path, as well as some other major projects in progress today, including the recent opening of the HVS Lima office, in Peru.

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