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Peru: Doing business & staying in touch
Doing business in Peru
Business culture in Peru is relationship-oriented to a degree that surprises visitors accustomed to more transactional styles. Trust and personal connection are considered prerequisites for effective business, and meetings are rarely as straightforward as sitting down to discuss the matter at hand. Time invested in getting to know a counterpart, asking about family and showing interest in the person rather than solely in the deal is understood as a necessary foundation.
Formality is valued in initial encounters. Titles are used: Doctor, Licenciado and Ingeniero are in common professional use and should be used until a first-name basis is clearly offered. A firm handshake is standard on greeting and parting; between women, or between a man and a woman in social settings, a single kiss on the cheek is common but should generally be led by the Peruvian counterpart in a professional context. Eye contact is expected and valued.
Punctuality expectations in Peru are nuanced. For formal meetings, particularly with government officials or large organisations, being on time is expected of foreign visitors even if the Peruvian party arrives late. Social appointments are more relaxed, and arriving fifteen to thirty minutes after the agreed time is not considered discourteous. Business lunches are common and may be lengthy; meals are a preferred setting for discussions that might otherwise feel too direct in a formal meeting room.
Written follow-up is important. Verbal agreements, however positive the meeting feels, should be confirmed in writing. Decision-making can be slow, particularly in larger organisations or public institutions, and patience is a practical asset. Hierarchy is respected, and the person with ultimate authority should ideally be identified early in any negotiation to avoid decisions being deferred repeatedly to another level.
Mon to Fri, 09:00 to 18:00 or 20:00. The siesta is observed in some parts of Peru, particularly in smaller towns and rural areas.
Peru has one of the strongest-performing economies in Latin America, built on a substantial base of natural resource extraction, particularly copper, gold, silver, zinc, lead and natural gas, combined with growing services and agricultural sectors. The country is the second largest producer of copper in the world and a significant global source of gold and silver. Mining accounts for a large share of export earnings and government revenues, though it also generates ongoing tensions around land rights and environmental impact in communities near extraction sites.
Agriculture is Peru's other major export sector, with asparagus, blueberries, grapes, avocados, quinoa and coffee all significant contributors to foreign exchange. Peru has become one of the world's leading exporters of blueberries, and the shift to high-value horticultural products has been a meaningful source of rural income in coastal valleys supported by irrigation. The fishing industry, centred on the cold, nutrient-rich Humboldt Current upwelling off the coast, produces large quantities of fishmeal and fish oil for export alongside a domestic market in fresh fish.
Tourism is an important and growing part of the economy, drawing visitors primarily to Machu Picchu and the Inca heritage circuit, but increasingly also to Lima's food scene, the Amazon, the Colca Canyon and the north. The sector's recovery following the disruptions of the pandemic has been sustained, and visitor numbers have approached and in some segments exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
Peru's economy has faced headwinds from political instability, infrastructure constraints and periods of civil unrest, particularly in mining regions where community-level conflicts over environmental and benefit-sharing arrangements remain unresolved. The informal economy is large, accounting for a significant proportion of total economic activity, and inequality between coastal urban centres and highland or jungle regions remains a structural challenge.
Keeping in Touch in Peru
Mobile phone coverage in Peru is extensive in Lima and other major cities, along the Pan-American Highway and in the main tourist destinations including Cusco, Arequipa, Trujillo and the Sacred Valley. The principal operators are Claro, Movistar, Entel and Bitel, all offering prepaid SIM cards purchasable at airports, retail shops and authorised resellers. Registration requires presentation of a passport. Prepaid data packages are affordable and easily topped up at small shops, pharmacies and convenience stores throughout urban areas.
Coverage becomes limited or absent in remote highland areas, on mountain trekking routes including sections of the Inca Trail, and in the Amazon basin outside the main river towns and lodge areas. At Machu Picchu, coverage within the site itself is variable. Many jungle lodges operate on generator schedules with limited or no mobile signal, which is considered by most visitors to be part of the appeal rather than an inconvenience. Satellite communication devices are used by guides and operators for emergency communication in remote areas.
Wi-Fi is widely available in Lima hotels, hostels, restaurants and cafés across all price points. Connection quality in the upscale districts of Miraflores, San Isidro and Barranco is generally good and suitable for video calls, streaming and remote work. In Cusco, the historic centre has reasonable Wi-Fi in most accommodation and a high concentration of cafés offering free access. Internet connectivity at Machu Picchu itself is limited, as the site lies in a valley with restricted signal.
In remote areas, internet access may be limited to communal computers in small-town cybercafés or absent entirely. Some jungle lodges deliberately minimise connectivity as part of their offering. For travellers requiring consistent internet access, a local SIM with a data package provides the most reliable mobile connectivity in urban areas and along main routes.
Peru has a diverse media landscape, including numerous national and regional television channels, a large number of radio stations broadcasting in both Spanish and Quechua, and a range of print and digital news outlets. Major national newspapers include El Comercio, La República and Trome, the latter one of the most widely read newspapers in Latin America by circulation. Television is dominated by commercial channels, with Canal N a leading news network. Radio broadcasts in Quechua and other indigenous languages serve significant audiences in highland and jungle regions.
International news channels are available through satellite television in most hotels. Social media usage is high, particularly in urban areas, and many Peruvians access news primarily through smartphones and digital platforms. The media environment is active and vocal, reflecting Peru's generally free press tradition, though economic pressures and political influence over some outlets have been documented by press freedom organisations.
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