About twenty thousand tourists visit Nagorno-Karabakh a year
29.09.2011,
00:56
Citing independent experts estimates, Nagorno-Karabakh president Bako Sahakian said today that some 20,000 foreign tourists visit the republic a year. Speaking at a special meeting of the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University held to mark the 20-th anniv
YEREVAN, September 28. / ARKA /. Citing independent experts estimates, Nagorno-Karabakh president Bako Sahakian said today that some 20,000 foreign tourists visit the republic a year. Speaking at a special meeting of the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University held to mark the 20-th anniversary of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Mr. Sahakian described the figure as quite high.
He said there are other estimates which say that the republic has about 8000 tourists annually, but added that this is an approximate figure, because the republic does not have a mechanism to register all visitors.
“We did not yet install a system that Armenia did to register all foreign visitors, and when we want to apply a strict registration procedure that creates inconveniences for foreigners,’ he said. He said despite Azerbaijan’s efforts to create obstacles for foreigners wishing to visit Nagorno-Karabakh (Baku declares them personas non-grata) the global interest towards it is rising. He said the number of tourists who visited it in the first six months this year grew by 45% from the same time span in 2010. According to Sahakian, Armenian philanthropists from Lebanon and Russia have built new hotels in Stepanakert and Shushi raising the number of beds to 645.
According to data of Nagorno-Karabakh foreign ministry, more than 3,000 tourists visited the republic in the first half of 2011, which is 49% higher than in the same period of 2010. Nagorno-Karabakh is visited by tourists from U.S., France, Iran, Great Britain, Holland, Switzerland, Canada, Italy, Poland, Russia and other CIS countries. More tourists are coming from faraway countries like Japan, China, Singapore, Brazil, Venezuela, Israel, New Zealand, India, who are attracted not only by its oldest historical monuments, magnificent nature, picturesque canyons, healthy environment, mineral and hot springs, but also by the friendliness and hospitality of its people and its distinctive cuisine. Guests are shown Gandzasar monastery complex (XIII century), Amaras (IV century), Dadivank (IV century), the ancient city of Tigranakert, Azokh caves, as well as many ancient Armenian fortresses. The expected reopening of the airport in Stepanakert is supposed to give a great boost to tourism development.-0-
