08.07.2009
Armenians Urged To Vacation In Karabakh
Lilit Harutiunian
Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian berated Armenias travel agencies on Wednesday for lacking interest in Nagorno-Karabakh and sending thousands of holiday-makers to Georgia and Turkey instead.
Georgias Black Sea region of Ajaria has emerged in recent years as the most popular destination of Armenians going on vacation in summer months. They are attracted by its seaside resorts and prices that are often significantly lower than in similar locations in Armenia. A growing number of Armenians also spend their summer holidays on the Turkish Mediterranean coast.
Sarkisian publicly complained about that as he met with representatives of about two dozen local travel operators. He said they should now pay much greater attention to resorts in Armenia and especially Karabakh, which is famous for its mountain scenery and ancient Armenian monasteries.
If you dont advertise [Karabakh] you will naturally have no clients, he said. People dont even know what opportunities exist in Karabakh, what the tariffs there are. They dont know that things are marvelous, service is marvelous there. Why arent you promoting [Karabakh] day and night?
Kobuleti [Georgia] and Antalya: you advertise them so much that even a person who will never go there knows about those places, added the prime minister.
A representative of Karabakhs tourism development agency present at the meeting offered the travel agents financial incentives to bring more Armenian tourists to the disputed region. He said the total cost of a five-day holiday tour of Karabakh will now range from 70,000 drams ($193) to 110,000 drams per person.
Some of the agents sounded incredulous about the offer, saying that they have until now dealt with higher travel and accommodation costs in Karabakh. Unless we see that [price package] with our own eyes we wont send any tourists there, said Ruben Grigorian of the Rumea travel agency.
So you should be the first tourists, commented Sarkisian. It was decided that a group of travel agents will leave for Karabakh on Monday to assess the tourism infrastructures and tariffs on the ground.
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