Peru hoping for direct flights from Qatar

 Lima, Feb. 14 (ANDINA).   Peru is optimistic that Qatar's national carrier Qatar Airways will soon announce the launch of non-stop flights between Doha and Lima, which will hopefully boost the presence of Qatari tourists in Peru.

Julio Florian, Peruvian Ambassador to Qatar, said this would be very important to the interests of Peru not only "because Qatar Airways is among the world's best airlines, but also because the per capita income of Qatar is $125,000, the highest in the world and nearly 20 times higher than that of Peru."

"We need direct air connectivity (Lima-Doha). This airline is one of the top three in the world, it has the most modern fleet and a strong interest in covering as many world capitals as possible. The trip to Lima (from Doha) takes about 20 hours," he said.

The Peruvian diplomat stressed the need to find mechanisms to link the two capitals by air in order to attract more tourists into the country, especially Qatari citizens.

"And this can be done because Lima is a hub in South America, so is Qatar in its region (...) there is no poverty in Qatar, a country with 1.7 million inhabitants, of which 350,000 are Qataris and the rest, foreigners," he added.

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