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TOURISM IN ARTSAKH COULD BE A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE
I will be making many more visits there and am thankful that I had
the good fortune to find this enigmatic land a few years ago.
If you are a person seeking the darker side of life with gangs in the
streets, muggings, shootings, protests, people being intimidated,
bombs etc then you will be disappointed by Nagorno-Karabakh. You
need to go to the more popular destinations of London, and other
European and "Western" capital cities to see such excitement. If you
want impressive landscapes, unusual cultural traditions, different
cuisine, and a friendly, welcoming and safe environment then perhaps
Nagorno-Karabakh is an option for you?
January 13, 2014
PanARMENIAN.Net - In all of my 9 visits to Nagorno-Karabakh, I have
always felt very safe and have never been subjected to any personal
danger whatsoever. I will be making many more visits there and am
thankful that I had the good fortune to find this enigmatic land a
few years ago.
For most of us outside of Nagorno-Karabakh we don't realize the
extent of the genuine danger that we live under, and yet, seemingly,
are totally irrational to a place where a conflict ended 20 years ago.
This is largely borne out by ignorance. Sarajevo, which was under
siege at the same time as the Nagorno-Karabakh war, receives about 20
times the number of tourists. Somehow those visitors have forgotten
the daily news bulletins of the "war-torn" capital. Also millions of
people travel to Belfast (Northern Ireland UK) each year, now, even
though it was the scene of inter-community violence and bombings for 30
years and even to this day devices are still being planted in places
that, theoretically could kill tourists. For some reason a blind eye
is turned to this risk. But for Nagorno-Karabakh, the myth continues.
I have heard people ask if there are risky areas, or places which
should be avoided due to land mines - yes of course. The popular
maxim which applies to all tourists in any destination in the world
is to do your research and be aware of the guidelines that you are
given. If you travel to New York and drift into no-go areas late at
night, despite the advice given in the hundreds of tourist books,
then the outcome is likely to be very risky. In Nagorno-Karabakh
you will never accidentally find yourself anywhere near a military
establishment which poses any danger for a visitor. For anyone who is
visiting the many beautiful tourist destinations in the country then
there is simply no risk. If you want to act recklessly and ignore
advice given by locals and head into the mountains alone into known
minefield areas then that is no different to going into the "bad areas"
of any capital city late at night.
So just to re-iterate - Nagorno-Karabakh is a safe place to visit.
Is it difficult to get to Stepanakert? Simple answer - No.
There are many flights into Yerevan. Anyone using Paris or
London as a hub can fly via Air France or if using Moscow, via
Aeroflot. The airport in Yerevan is a beautiful new building, and very
passenger-friendly and there are plenty of authorized taxis able to
take you into the city centre. Yerevan has many quality hotels all of
which can be booked either directly, or through the usual internet
agencies like Booking.com. As with any major city, accommodation is
available for all price ranges.
The only way of getting to Stepanakert from Yerevan is by road. This
can be done by bus ( which is very cheap) or a taxi can be hired.
Personally, I always go by taxi which costs about £40-£50 ($70-$80)
- this is cheap for a 6 hour journey. It is occasionally raised as
a major hurdle for people not visiting. However they are prepared to
spend much longer confined to an aircraft, with no view at all. If you
go in a taxi, the journey is more flexible - you can stop as often
as you want, watch the beautiful landscape unfold, and you may even
enjoy some of the delights of the culture on the way.
Stepanakert, and Shushi now have some very modern, and luxurious
hotels that will appeal to the European/American traveler and are
very reasonably priced. I was privileged to have been shown round the
rooms and the facilities of the new Vallex Garden Hotel - the rooms
there are extremely good, and would be very pleasant for people who
like their comforts when travelling. There are many high quality
restaurants and cafes available in the city as well and, for those
who have the opportunity to meet up with some of the locals, then a
meal hosted by a family would be a treat to remember - and you will
be made to feel very special!
There is a vast amount of unspoilt scenery and places to visit in
the country. The Governments website has some powerful videos, and
photographs, as well as much more information to help the tourist. For
people from the established industrialised nations then you will find
the country very good value compared to what you are used to.
The vast majority of people in the UK, assuming they leave the country,
will only go on holiday to conventional tourist destinations in Western
Europe, US, Canada, and a few well known Middle Eastern, and Asian
countries. Poland and Croatia is about as far East as they would go,
in Europe, and that is considered to be exotic, so encouraging people
to go to Nagorno-Karabakh would be a long process.
However for the people in the global Armenian Diaspora this should
not be the case.
As an unrecognized country it is extremely difficult for manufactured
products to be exported much beyond Armenia, or Russia, which severely
curtails the ability of the country to grow from within. Most of the
significant investments into the infrastructure are made by wealthy
business people / philanthropists from the Diaspora. The one export
that can be made, without the movement of goods is Tourism - there is
no particular reason why this cannot continue to grow. In addition
to bringing money into the country, it will bring confidence to the
people that they are "recognized", and this will gradually help with
their greater well-being.
Since 2009 the number of tourists ( excluding those from the Republic
of Armenia) has grown by 40% per year but in 2013 this will still only
be in the region of 20,000 people. If 1% of the Armenian Diaspora
visited each year this would be nearer 100,000 people. Although
the major infrastructure projects supported by the Telethons are
important, perhaps an appeal which supports people actually visiting
Nagorno-Karabakh could be another initiative?
A modest increase in the tourist traffic would have a profound effect
on the local economy and if done in a co-ordinated, and considered way,
the influx of money could directly help a large number of people in
the country. Ultimately, this could be a life-changing experience for
the people visiting - as it did for me - as well as the many people
living in this besieged Armenian country.
Russell Pollard
http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/details/174856/
From: Baghdasarian
I will be making many more visits there and am thankful that I had
the good fortune to find this enigmatic land a few years ago.
If you are a person seeking the darker side of life with gangs in the
streets, muggings, shootings, protests, people being intimidated,
bombs etc then you will be disappointed by Nagorno-Karabakh. You
need to go to the more popular destinations of London, and other
European and "Western" capital cities to see such excitement. If you
want impressive landscapes, unusual cultural traditions, different
cuisine, and a friendly, welcoming and safe environment then perhaps
Nagorno-Karabakh is an option for you?
January 13, 2014
PanARMENIAN.Net - In all of my 9 visits to Nagorno-Karabakh, I have
always felt very safe and have never been subjected to any personal
danger whatsoever. I will be making many more visits there and am
thankful that I had the good fortune to find this enigmatic land a
few years ago.
For most of us outside of Nagorno-Karabakh we don't realize the
extent of the genuine danger that we live under, and yet, seemingly,
are totally irrational to a place where a conflict ended 20 years ago.
This is largely borne out by ignorance. Sarajevo, which was under
siege at the same time as the Nagorno-Karabakh war, receives about 20
times the number of tourists. Somehow those visitors have forgotten
the daily news bulletins of the "war-torn" capital. Also millions of
people travel to Belfast (Northern Ireland UK) each year, now, even
though it was the scene of inter-community violence and bombings for 30
years and even to this day devices are still being planted in places
that, theoretically could kill tourists. For some reason a blind eye
is turned to this risk. But for Nagorno-Karabakh, the myth continues.
I have heard people ask if there are risky areas, or places which
should be avoided due to land mines - yes of course. The popular
maxim which applies to all tourists in any destination in the world
is to do your research and be aware of the guidelines that you are
given. If you travel to New York and drift into no-go areas late at
night, despite the advice given in the hundreds of tourist books,
then the outcome is likely to be very risky. In Nagorno-Karabakh
you will never accidentally find yourself anywhere near a military
establishment which poses any danger for a visitor. For anyone who is
visiting the many beautiful tourist destinations in the country then
there is simply no risk. If you want to act recklessly and ignore
advice given by locals and head into the mountains alone into known
minefield areas then that is no different to going into the "bad areas"
of any capital city late at night.
So just to re-iterate - Nagorno-Karabakh is a safe place to visit.
Is it difficult to get to Stepanakert? Simple answer - No.
There are many flights into Yerevan. Anyone using Paris or
London as a hub can fly via Air France or if using Moscow, via
Aeroflot. The airport in Yerevan is a beautiful new building, and very
passenger-friendly and there are plenty of authorized taxis able to
take you into the city centre. Yerevan has many quality hotels all of
which can be booked either directly, or through the usual internet
agencies like Booking.com. As with any major city, accommodation is
available for all price ranges.
The only way of getting to Stepanakert from Yerevan is by road. This
can be done by bus ( which is very cheap) or a taxi can be hired.
Personally, I always go by taxi which costs about £40-£50 ($70-$80)
- this is cheap for a 6 hour journey. It is occasionally raised as
a major hurdle for people not visiting. However they are prepared to
spend much longer confined to an aircraft, with no view at all. If you
go in a taxi, the journey is more flexible - you can stop as often
as you want, watch the beautiful landscape unfold, and you may even
enjoy some of the delights of the culture on the way.
Stepanakert, and Shushi now have some very modern, and luxurious
hotels that will appeal to the European/American traveler and are
very reasonably priced. I was privileged to have been shown round the
rooms and the facilities of the new Vallex Garden Hotel - the rooms
there are extremely good, and would be very pleasant for people who
like their comforts when travelling. There are many high quality
restaurants and cafes available in the city as well and, for those
who have the opportunity to meet up with some of the locals, then a
meal hosted by a family would be a treat to remember - and you will
be made to feel very special!
There is a vast amount of unspoilt scenery and places to visit in
the country. The Governments website has some powerful videos, and
photographs, as well as much more information to help the tourist. For
people from the established industrialised nations then you will find
the country very good value compared to what you are used to.
The vast majority of people in the UK, assuming they leave the country,
will only go on holiday to conventional tourist destinations in Western
Europe, US, Canada, and a few well known Middle Eastern, and Asian
countries. Poland and Croatia is about as far East as they would go,
in Europe, and that is considered to be exotic, so encouraging people
to go to Nagorno-Karabakh would be a long process.
However for the people in the global Armenian Diaspora this should
not be the case.
As an unrecognized country it is extremely difficult for manufactured
products to be exported much beyond Armenia, or Russia, which severely
curtails the ability of the country to grow from within. Most of the
significant investments into the infrastructure are made by wealthy
business people / philanthropists from the Diaspora. The one export
that can be made, without the movement of goods is Tourism - there is
no particular reason why this cannot continue to grow. In addition
to bringing money into the country, it will bring confidence to the
people that they are "recognized", and this will gradually help with
their greater well-being.
Since 2009 the number of tourists ( excluding those from the Republic
of Armenia) has grown by 40% per year but in 2013 this will still only
be in the region of 20,000 people. If 1% of the Armenian Diaspora
visited each year this would be nearer 100,000 people. Although
the major infrastructure projects supported by the Telethons are
important, perhaps an appeal which supports people actually visiting
Nagorno-Karabakh could be another initiative?
A modest increase in the tourist traffic would have a profound effect
on the local economy and if done in a co-ordinated, and considered way,
the influx of money could directly help a large number of people in
the country. Ultimately, this could be a life-changing experience for
the people visiting - as it did for me - as well as the many people
living in this besieged Armenian country.
Russell Pollard
http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/details/174856/
From: Baghdasarian