INTERVIEW-Peru airline sees tourism key to 2002 growth By Amy Taxin QUITO, Ecuador, May 10 (Reuters) - Peru's leading airline, Aero Continente, sees its plan to map a South American flight network and lure foreign visitors to the region's famed tourist sites boosting its bottom line in 2002, a top executive told Reuters. "Our goal is to bring greater tourist flows to our continent," the airline's president, Carlos Morales said in a recent interview. Noting that European and U.S. airlines in the region have traditionally focused on shuttling South Americans north, the Lima-based airline is aiming to link flights across South America and then to the United States and Europe. Then it can start to pull in more passengers to the region via tourism, Morales said. To make that happen, Aero Continente is seeking to acquire Ecuadorean flagship carrier Ecuatoriana de Aviacion and is planning to start flights to the Dominican Republic, which would link the northern hemisphere with the south. In 2001, more than 600,000 people visited Ecuador and spent some $430 million on trips to its snow-capped mountains, Amazon jungle region and the Galapagos islands, according to official figures. Tourism has become of Ecuador's main sources of foreign exchange after oil, remittances from Ecuadoreans abroad and banana sales. Neighboring Peru, which boasts the mysterious Nazca lines and famed Incan citadel Machu Picchu, received just over 1 million tourists in 2001. As Morales sees it, that is reason enough to link the two Andean countries with flights from New York, Miami and Madrid, let alone other continents, such as Asia, he said. "In Asia, operators are requesting, and we agree as per talks with Ecuador's foreign affairs minister ... a route for example from Japan to Galapagos to Macchu Picchu, which would generate large flows of Asian tourists," Morales said. "We're studying this possibility," he said. WAITING ON ECUATORIANA Aero Continente, one of Latin America's fastest growing airlines known for its low fares, wants to buy a near 70 percent stake in state-held Ecuatoriana for $35 million, to fly to its three biggest cities -- Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca -- as well as the Galapagos. Ecuatoriana, which reverted to state control after strategic partner Vasp (Sao Paolo:VASP3.SA - News) hit financial troubles, also holds a vast number of routes across Latin America, a key attraction for its proposed buyer. Chilean carrier Lan Chile (Santiago:LAN.SN - News; NYSE:LFL - News) has operated flights on some of Ecuatoriana's routes for the past year, but this accord expires in June, Morales said, the same month Aero Continente hopes Quito will give the green light on the sale. Morales said he expects a decision from Ecuador's government in the next 30 days. Aero Continente failed in its attempt to buy Argentine flagship carrier Aerolineas Argentinas in 2001. He said the acquisition would help Aero Continente capture between 35-40 percent of Ecuador's domestic air market within the first year of operation and 30 to 35 percent of its international market. Three Boeing 737-200s would be needed to cover Ecuador's domestic routes and three Boeing 767-200s to cover the planned international routes from local cities to New York and Miami, he said. Morales said Aero Continente's plan to initiate flights to the Dominican Republic and buy Ecuatoriana will help the company meet its 2002 sales target of $120 million. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.