Indecopi fines two companies 450 UIT each over a tourist's death on a dune buggy in Huacachina

The Commission of Indecopi’s Ica Regional Office fined each of two companies, Aventura Sin Fronteras E.I.R.L. and Lima Experience S.A.C., 450 UIT over the death of a tourist during a dune-buggy ride in the Huacachina dunes. Resolution 131-2026/CPC-INDECOPI-ICA, dated 25 June 2026 in Ica, is a first-instance decision in a proceeding Indecopi opened on its own initiative (case 1-2025/CPC-INDECOPI-ICA-SIA).

According to the resolution, the passengers were left inside the vehicle with nobody with them while it was temporarily parked on the dunes. The buggy suddenly slid and collided, and a tourist on board died. The resolution gives two dates for the event: the background section says 31 May 2025 and the operative part says 30 May 2025.

The Commission upheld the case against both companies for breaching article 25 of the Consumer Protection and Defense Code (Ley 29571), which sets the general duty of safety, «toda vez que no adoptaron las medidas de seguridad necesarias durante la prestación del servicio turístico de paseo en vehículos tubulares» (since they did not take the necessary safety measures while providing the dune-buggy tour service). According to the resolution, they exposed consumers «a un riesgo injustificado para su vida e integridad» (to an unjustified risk to their life and physical integrity).

The companies defended themselves in different ways. Aventura Sin Fronteras argued that the risk is inherent to adventure activities and that it warned of it on the tickets, and that a third party intervened while the vehicle was parked without a driver. Lima Experience argued it acted only as an «agente turístico e intermediario comercial» (tour agent and commercial intermediary). The Commission answered that «la sola invocación de una condición de intermediario no resulta suficiente para descartar preliminarmente la existencia de obligaciones derivadas de la relación de consumo» (merely invoking intermediary status is not enough to rule out, at the outset, obligations arising from the consumer relationship), and sanctioned both.

The preliminary fine came to 961.07 UIT, calculated at the 2025 UIT (S/5,350). Because the breach was graded as very serious, the Commission applied the «límite máximo legal de hasta 450 UIT» (legal maximum of up to 450 UIT), the cap that article 110 of the Code sets for very serious breaches. Each 450 UIT fine equals S/2,475,000 at the 2026 UIT (S/5,500); together the two companies were fined 900 UIT. The soles amounts are our own calculation at the 2026 UIT; under article 113 of the Code, the UIT in force on the date of payment is used.

The resolution recalls the rule in article 113 of the Code: «La multa aplicable es rebajada en un veinticinco por ciento (25%) cuando el infractor cancele el monto de la misma con anterioridad a la culminación del término para impugnar la resolución que puso fin a la instancia y en tanto no interponga recurso alguno contra dicha resolución» (the fine is reduced by 25% if the offender pays it before the deadline to challenge the decision ends and does not file any appeal against it). Payment is due once the resolution is final, and both companies are to be entered in Indecopi’s register of infringements and sanctions.

As a corrective measure, within 15 business days of the resolution becoming final in the administrative track, both companies must refrain from selling, offering, contracting or running dune-buggy tour packages without suitable safety, supervision and control conditions.

In April 2026, Indecopi’s Chamber had already upheld another 450 UIT fine for breaching the same article 25: the one against Transportes Olivares over the crash on the Cusco–Livitaca route. If you were hurt on a tour, see who is liable: the agency, the operator or both, and how to file a reclamo or a complaint with Indecopi.