Overview
- The Ministry of Culture signed two ministerial resolutions on Friday that remove the three-hour reservation hold and require payment confirmation within 15 minutes for digital ticket issuance.
- Technical teams have up to 10 days to implement the change and the ministry will run a 30-day marcha blanca trial to test the new direct-sale process.
- An official audit found that of 209,051 reservation operations across eight tourism companies, 131,626 (62.96%) were annulled, a pattern the ministry says created artificial scarcity on the tuboleto.cultura.pe platform.
- Tickets not paid within the 15-minute window will immediately return to public availability, tickets will be linked to visitor identification, and the existing 1,000 daily in-person Machu Picchu sales and travel-agency sales for the Red de Camino Inca will continue.
- Mincetur and SERNANP publicly backed the reform and officials say the measure aims to curb ticket blocking and resale, improve actual access for tourists and locals, and strengthen management of the sanctuary.