Industry group examines Peru's potential for Chinese tourists

The Republic of Peru is being pushed as a potentially huge tourism destination for Chinese visitors, but the inconvenience of traveling there is still seen as major hinderance, China's tourism industry leaders said during a visit to the Latin American country on Thursday.

With no direct flights, Chinese travelers are faced with a grueling 30-hour trip to get there, which usually includes at least one, sometimes long, stopover in Europe or the United States.

But even if a direct flight was launched between the countries, that would be likely to take 17 hours, said Pansy Ho, managing director of Shun Tak Holdings Ltd.