The new regulations governing “private special economic zones” (zonas económicas especiales privadas or ZEEP) pave the way for a privately managed investment model featuring tax and customs incentives in Peru. We analyze the implications for the tourism and hotel sector, which finds in this instrument a strategic opportunity to develop projects under a strengthened legal certainty framework.
The “special tourism development zones” (zonas especiales de desarrollo turístico or ZEDT), introduced by Peru’s new General Tourism Law, which were the subject of a previous article on this blog, are emerging as a key mechanism for attracting private investment toward prioritized tourism destinations. With the recent approval of the ZEEP regulations, the landscape is complemented by an additional instrument that, although conceived with a broader scope, also offers concrete opportunities for the tourism and hotel sector.
By means of Supreme Decree No. 005-2026-MINCETUR, published on April 21, 2026, the Peruvian Government approved the Regulations under Law No. 32449, which establishes the special tax and customs treatment for the ZEEP. This regulation develops the legal framework for implementing a mechanism aimed at promoting investment, fostering sustainable socioeconomic development and strengthening the country’s competitiveness, endowing the ZEEP with legal certainty and operability as a tool for attracting private capital -both domestic and foreign- with particular potential for strategic sectors such as tourism.
The ZEEPs are defined as geographically delimited areas established by law within Peruvian territory, privately administered and subject to a special regime providing tariff, tax and foreign trade benefits. Their purpose is to strengthen competitiveness through the attraction of investment, the development of value-added industry, the promotion of research, the creation of employment and the diversification of non-traditional exports. Accordingly, the ZEEPs aspire to establish themselves as productive development hubs with international reach, enabling the hotel sector to develop complexes linked to its value chain in an environment with tax incentives and strengthened legal certainty.
The regulations precisely define the permitted activities: industrial, assembly and basic service activities linked to the manufacturing industry, together with complementary activities -such as restaurants, coffee shops and other food service operations- provided they constitute new investment. In the hotel sector, complementary food service activities are particularly relevant, as they are services directly linked to the operation of lodging establishments.
One of the most significant aspects of the regulations is the figure of the “private operator” (operador privado or OP), the legal entity responsible for promoting, directing, managing and operating the ZEEP, as well as for constructing the infrastructure necessary for the installation of users. The OP performs essential functions: it qualifies users, executes the corresponding agreements, provides logistics and maintenance services, and facilitates the provision of support services within the zone. To access this status, the legal entity must demonstrate financial soundness and commit to a minimum investment of 1,500 UIT in new fixed assets.
For their part, the users of the ZEEP -that is, the companies that establish themselves to carry out productive activities- must, as of the entry into force of the law, be incorporated as new legal entities in Peru or as new branches, agencies or permanent establishments of foreign companies. Exceptionally, a pre-existing legal entity may incorporate a new entity to qualify as a user, provided it corresponds to a line of business not previously developed. Users assume a minimum investment commitment of 2,000 UIT, channeled through the national financial system, for a period of up to two years from the execution of the agreement with the OP. This structure facilitates both the entry of new players into the Peruvian market and the expansion of international business groups interested in diversifying their operations in the region.
The procedure for the creation of a ZEEP has been designed on the basis of efficiency and transparency criteria. The qualification application is filed through the Virtual Filing Office of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur), accompanied by a master development plan that must evidence, among other things, the positive economic impact of the project. Mincetur assesses admissibility within a maximum period of two business days, while the substantive evaluation is conducted within a period of up to thirty business days, extendable for an equal period. If the project is declared viable, Mincetur submits it to the Council of Ministers for its subsequent presentation to the Congress of the Republic. This procedural expeditiousness, combined with the digitalization of proceedings, reflects an approach aimed at reducing the bureaucratic burden and facilitating investment.
The regulations incorporate an efficiency principle that commits Mincetur to progressively identifying the procedures necessary for the installation and operation of the ZEEP, formulating improvement proposals to simplify and standardize proceedings. The supervisory and enforcement framework reinforces investor confidence: Mincetur supervises compliance with legal requirements, and the sanctioning regime ensures the obligations of operators and users, safeguarding the integrity of the system and the interests of all participants.
This model has a successful precedent in the country: the publicly administered “special economic zones” (zonas económicas especiales or ZEE), which, over the years, have offered tax benefits and contributed to regional productive dynamism. The ZEEPs draw on that experience and project it under a privately managed scheme that is more agile and market oriented. The regulations even contemplate the possibility of transforming existing public ZEE into privately administered zones, in accordance with the framework of the national system for the promotion of private investment.
In this manner, Peru sends a clear signal to the international market: it is prepared to receive quality investment that generates employment and innovation. For both domestic and foreign investors, the ZEEPs represent a strategic opportunity to establish operations in a country committed to economic openness, competitiveness and sustainable development. In particular, for stakeholders in the tourism sector, this new regulatory framework offers a predictable and competitive environment that, together with the ZEDT analyzed in our previous article, establishes a comprehensive system of incentives to stimulate investment in tourism and hotel infrastructure in Peru.
