More than £17,000 has been raised by the trade in a LATA Foundation campaign to support out-of-work Peruvian porters and their families.
The ‘Peru 25 for 25’ initiative saw 44 fundraisers each take on an individual 25-mile challenge – the length of the Inca Trail – in March as well as a number of teams setting collective fundraising targets.
Each £25 raised covers one essential food parcel for a porter and their family for one month with all of the funds received going directly towards buying food.
The funds will cover more than 680 monthly food parcels.
Peruvian porters usually support thousands of tourists who travel each year to follow in the footsteps of the Incas to Machu Picchu and other Inca sites.
But their livelihoods have been seriously impacted by the pandemic and lack of tourism.
Many porters have had no alternative source of income or government support since March 2020.
LATA Foundation chair Jude Berry said: “We are overwhelmed with the response to this campaign with the funds raised hugely exceeding our expectations.
“The global pandemic has put a huge strain on many communities, families and individuals, including the UK travel sector.
“We are especially grateful that so many people got behind this initiative despite their own personal or professional challenges, and we would like to extend our thanks to every single fundraiser and sponsor.
“As well as this initiative, the LATA Foundation continues to support other communities and projects in Latin America that urgently need support.”