ARMENIA, KARABAKH TO MAKE DEBUT APPEARANCE AT LA TIMES TRAVEL SHOW FEB. 13-14

Asbarez
Feb 3rd, 2010

LOS ANGELES- For the first time in the history of the Los Angeles
Times Travel and Adventure Show, the Republics of Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh (Artsakh) will be represented-in the main Exhibition Hall,
on-stage with cultural performances, and with a photo travelogue.

The tourism offices of Armenia and Karabakh will share a large
"Welcome to Armenia" booth in the Exhibition Hall of the Travel Show,
which organizers estimate will be seen by as many as 50,000 people
over the course of the two-day show. The Los Angeles event is the
largest travel show in the US.

Armenia’s participation is co-sponsored by the Armenian American
Chamber of Commerce (AACC), located in Glendale, California., the
Armenian Tourism Development Agency (ATDA), based in Yerevan, Armenia,
and the Consulate General of the Republic of Armenia, in Los Angeles.

Armenia will also be represented on the "Global Beat Stage" with a
music and dance performance at 11:10 am on each day of the show. The
Gevorkian Dance Academy will perform modern and fold dances in
traditional attire, and the Armenian music and dance group Duo Images
will perform, as well.

And there is a "Destination Workshop" featuring a slide show travelogue
about Armenia and Karabakh at 3:30 pm on the first day of the show,
Feb. 13.

This slide show, entitled "Welcome to Armenia: Ancient Nation, New
Republic," will be presented by Matthew Karanian and Robert Kurkjian,
the authors of Armenia’s first-ever commercial travel guidebook
dedicated solely to Armenia. The show features spectacular photography
of the people, vistas, and historic sites of Armenia and Karabakh.

In addition to showcasing the beauty of Armenia and Karabakh in
photographs, Karanian and Kurkjian will discuss the current state of
tourism in the two republics and explain some of the logistics of
getting there and getting around. They will also discuss Armenia’s
prospects for developing as an eco-tourism destination. Their guidebook
on Armenia, "The Stone Garden Guide: Armenia and Karabagh," is the
best-selling guide to the country.

"This is a huge event for Armenia, but also especially for Karabakh,"
says Zaven Kazazian, a member of the AACC. "This is a rare opportunity
to showcase Armenians at one of the largest travel shows in the world,"
he said.

Participation in the travel show caps a decade of growth in Armenia’s
tourism market, according to the Armenian Consul General G.

Hovhannissian. "Armenia attaches a special importance to tourism,
and has declared it to be a priority sector for the country’s economic
development," he said. "This is a joint undertaking [by the government
and the private sector] and I am sure the Armenia booth will attract
a lot of visitors," he added.

Approximately 650,000 tourists traveled to Armenia in 2009-a ten-fold
increase over the number who visited just a decade ago. More than a
million visitors are projected to annually travel to Armenia by 2020.

The event is a milestone for the development of tourism in Armenia,
says Nick Hacopian a member of the AACC and the Chair of the committee
that organized Armenia’s participation in the travel show. "This
is the largest travel event in the US, and our presence will help
showcase Armenia to a vast new audience," he said.

Representatives of Levon Travel and Sidon Travel-two Los Angeles
travel agencies that offer tours to Armenia- will be at the Armenia
booth each day to explain the logistics of traveling there. And
several tour operators will travel to the Los Angeles from Armenia
to be at the booth, including Saberatours-Sevan; Armenia Travel M;
Elitar Travel; and Nueva Vista Travel.

The LA Times Travel Show will be open to the public from 10 am
to 5 pm on Saturday, February 13 and Sunday, February 14, at the
Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 South Figueora Street, Los
Angeles. Admission is $10 (Children 16 and under are admitted free
when accompanied by an adult). More information is available at

The Armenian American Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1999. The
organization serves Southern California’s Armenian American
business community and encourages greater ties and collaboration
with the business community of Armenia. The AACC can be reached at
, and at 818-247-0196.