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NORATUS VILLAGE: AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR ARMENIAN DESTINATION?
by Delia Gavrilescu
Argophilia Travel News
Sept 29 2011
It's hard to believe that Noratus is becoming increasingly popular
in Armenia, but according to Deputy Head of the Noratus community
Vachik Khachatryan, the number of travelers visiting this Gegharkunik
province village reaches 200-300 per day. If we consider the lowest
of the numbers, Noratus gets a mind boggling 6000 visitors a month,
about 72000 a year. How many tourists do you think come to Armenia
each year? To give you a hint, if you believe Mr. Khachatryan,
a third of them flock to Noratus.
Khachatryan told Armenpress that the tourists are particularly
interested in the medieval cemetery that contains a large number of
early khachkars, the largest surviving cemetery with khachkars in
the country.
But a number of 200-300 tourists a day seems a bit inflated, unless
these tourists arrive here with short day-trip packages. The shortage
of hotels in the area makes it challenging for tourists to find
accommodation; but tourists from Yerevan, for example, only need 1.5
hours to arrive here.
Yet this sudden flux of tourists to Noratus cannot be explained. Aside
a renovation/ restoration project in 2010 (with support from the U.S.
Ambassador's Culture Fund), that consisted of installing a protective,
decorative fence, two new entrances and electric lighting, visitor
center and craft center, there hasn't been much done to promote Noratus
Cemetery with foreign tourists. There is only one panel at the entrance
of the graveyard, with information in Braille, as well as English,
Russian, French, German, Italian, and Armenian. And when it comes to
news about this destination, Noratus is remarkable through its utter
absence from the main media streams.
There can be a lot more done to attract more tourists to Noratus -
and the funds resulting from an increased number of visitors could be
used to continue the preservation projects begun in 2010. For instance,
tourists could be offered more clear information on what else, aside
the cemetery, they can experience in the village: local traditions,
culture, cuisine, other landmarks, nature, etc.
http://www.argophilia.com/news/noratus-village/23933/
by Delia Gavrilescu
Argophilia Travel News
Sept 29 2011
It's hard to believe that Noratus is becoming increasingly popular
in Armenia, but according to Deputy Head of the Noratus community
Vachik Khachatryan, the number of travelers visiting this Gegharkunik
province village reaches 200-300 per day. If we consider the lowest
of the numbers, Noratus gets a mind boggling 6000 visitors a month,
about 72000 a year. How many tourists do you think come to Armenia
each year? To give you a hint, if you believe Mr. Khachatryan,
a third of them flock to Noratus.
Khachatryan told Armenpress that the tourists are particularly
interested in the medieval cemetery that contains a large number of
early khachkars, the largest surviving cemetery with khachkars in
the country.
But a number of 200-300 tourists a day seems a bit inflated, unless
these tourists arrive here with short day-trip packages. The shortage
of hotels in the area makes it challenging for tourists to find
accommodation; but tourists from Yerevan, for example, only need 1.5
hours to arrive here.
Yet this sudden flux of tourists to Noratus cannot be explained. Aside
a renovation/ restoration project in 2010 (with support from the U.S.
Ambassador's Culture Fund), that consisted of installing a protective,
decorative fence, two new entrances and electric lighting, visitor
center and craft center, there hasn't been much done to promote Noratus
Cemetery with foreign tourists. There is only one panel at the entrance
of the graveyard, with information in Braille, as well as English,
Russian, French, German, Italian, and Armenian. And when it comes to
news about this destination, Noratus is remarkable through its utter
absence from the main media streams.
There can be a lot more done to attract more tourists to Noratus -
and the funds resulting from an increased number of visitors could be
used to continue the preservation projects begun in 2010. For instance,
tourists could be offered more clear information on what else, aside
the cemetery, they can experience in the village: local traditions,
culture, cuisine, other landmarks, nature, etc.
http://www.argophilia.com/news/noratus-village/23933/