Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Nagorno-Karabakh Reports Surge In Tourism

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Nagorno-Karabakh Reports Surge In Tourism

    NAGORNO-KARABAKH REPORTS SURGE IN TOURISM

    RadioFreeEurope
    http://www.rferl.org/content/nagorno_karabakh_reports_surge_in_tourism/24311954.html
    Aug 29, 2011

    YEREVAN -- Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh say the number of foreign
    tourists visiting the breakaway Azerbaijani region jumped by almost
    50 percent in the first half of this year following a similarly sharp
    rise recorded in 2010, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.

    "More than 3,000 foreigners visited Nagorno-Karabakh in the first
    half of 2011, a 49 percent increase from the same period of 2010,"
    the Foreign Ministry of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
    (NKR) said in a statement.

    "Compared to the same period of the previous year [2009,] the first
    half of 2010 was also marked by a significant 45 percent increase in
    tourist numbers," it added.

    The official figures do not include residents of Armenia.

    According to the statement, citizens of over two dozen countries
    visited the territory this year, notably the United States, France,
    Russia, and Iran, which have sizable ethnic Armenian communities.

    The statement also spoke of a growing tourist influx from more
    farther-flung places such as Japan, China, and New Zealand.

    It said the forthcoming reopening of the territory's sole airport will
    "greatly facilitate" further development of the local tourism industry.

    A senior Karabakh official told RFE/RL earlier this month that
    the delayed airport reconstruction will be completed by the end
    of September.

    The Azerbaijani authorities regard private or business trips to
    Nagorno-Karabakh that have not been authorized by them as a breach
    of Baku's internationally recognized sovereignty over the disputed
    territory.

    Dozens of foreign dignitaries have been declared personae non gratae
    in Azerbaijan for ignoring these warnings.

    Last week, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry blacklisted four members
    of France's parliament who toured the territory and called for
    international recognition of its independence.

    Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a brutal six-year war over the
    Armenian-majority enclave that only ended with a cease-fire in 1994,
    but Nagorno-Karabakh's final status remains unresolved and the
    situation in and around the enclave remains volatile.


    From: Baghdasarian
Working...
X