A Little Taste of Peru

Cecilia is a Tourism Management graduate with studies in Marketing and Public Investment Projects. She worked in Caritas NGO as Tourism Projects Coordinator, where she had the opportunity to manage tourism developing projects and educate the native communities to act as tourism stakeholders. Her work took her to several amazing places around Peru. Today she works at PROMPERÚ, the Tourism and Export Promotion Board for ten years, as the US Market Specialist, promoting Peru and making strong connections with the most important associations and consortias in the U.S. such as USTOA and Virtuoso. Throughout all these years, she has specialized in luxury travel, promoting the Peruvian high-end products; and since 2020 she is being involved in the promotion of gastronomic tourism as part of the Marketing strategies for the US market.

Seasoned travel and tourism professional with 27 years of experience assisting customers from around the world to fulfill their travel needs in Peru. Extensive knowledge of top
travel requirements thanks to her 13 year participation in a Peruvian travel company awarded by Condé Nast Traveller. Having just completed 14 years with her own company, Lima Mentor, developing cultural and gastronomic itineraries mainly for Lima, but also regions that are hidden treasures in Peru such as Jaén, a coffee destination, and Iquitos where she has initiated an off-grid sustainable stay surrounded by nature, Amaca Eco Station.

Maria Del Pilar Salas has been the Co-Founder and Director of Hacienda Sarapampa (Sacred Valley
Cusco-Peru) since 2017. In this role, she oversees strategic planning and brand development as well as promotes public relations with travel agencies and customers. Salas is currently also President of Skal International Cusco, an organization dedicated to promoting tourism worldwide.

Before founding Hacienda Sarapampa, Salas spent over five years at LATAM Airlines in the Institutional Relations and PR department, as a Special Services agent in charge of VIP passengers, and as a Flight Service Manager Attendant. Salas received a BA in Marketing from Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola (Lima-Peru) and interned at Walt Disney World in Florida. Prior to college, she was awarded a leadership scholarship at The Louis August Jonas Foundation’s Camp Raising Sun in New York.

Salas and her team have been featured in Forbes, Financial Times, Paris Match, Brazil’s Agro Mulheres, and recommended in multiple luxury magazines from 5* hotel chains. They have also
been recognized by Tripadvisor with a Travelers’ Choice Award in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 and a Certificate of Excellence in 2019 and 2022.