Caucasian Knot | At exhibition in Yerevan, Nagorno-Karabakh presents new tourist routes

Instead of the historical and cultural sights that remained in the territories occupied by the Azerbaijani Army, about 20 new objects have been presented to tourists, Gevorg Arakelyan, the head of the tourism department under the Ministry of Economy of the unrecognized republic, said at the "Intour Expo" international exhibition in Yerevan. This season, tourism in Nagorno-Karabakh is popular mainly among visitors from Armenia and local residents, entrepreneurs have reported.

Given the fact that after the 2020 war, some territories came under Azerbaijan's control, it was necessary to design new tourist routes, Mr Arakelyan has noted.

"The new tourist routes include natural and historical-architectural monuments located in the Martuni, Martakert and Askeran Districts. There are up to two dozen attractions in total. Mountain and forest hiking trips, local history and ethnographic museums are very popular among tourists," Gevorg Arakelyan said, adding that From January to May, up to 600 foreign tourists visited Artsakh, which is 70 percent lower than during the same period of 2020.

As noted by Sergey Shahverdyan, the chairman of the Nagorno-Karabakh's Public Council for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, after the 2016 war, the tourism sector was restored quite quickly.

There are enough historical, cultural and natural monuments in the republic that can be included into tourist routes, said Armine Airapetyan, the director of the Nagorno-Karabakh's State Service for the Protection of Historical Environment. According to her story, some of them can already be visited by tourists; others need some minor furnishing.