LA TRAVEL SHOW IS ‘ABUZZ’ BY ARMENIA’S STRONG FIRST APPEARANCE
Armradio.am
17.02.2010 10:41
Armenia and Karabakh made their first appearance at the LA Times
Travel and Adventure Show last week and were greeted by a two-day
throng of more than 40,000 people, according to show organizers.
Representatives of the two countries distributed travel information
and staffed a booth that showed video clips about Armenia and
Karabakh. Armenian dance groups in native attire performed folk dances
on each day of the show. And a travelogue and slide show by the authors
of an Armenia travel guide attracted a standing-room-only crowd.
"We couldn’t have hoped for a better debut reception," said Zaven
Kazazian, the president of the Armenian American Chamber of Commerce
(AACC).
News of Armenia’s participation at the LA travel show-which is the
largest travel show in the US– generated excitement even before the
show doors opened, according to Kazazian.
"Everyone was abuzz" about Armenia and Karabakh even before we arrived,
he said. And on the first morning of the show "there was a traffic jam"
of people at the booth, he added.
The Armenian American Chamber of Commerce (AACC), of Glendale, Calif.,
and the Consulate General of the Republic of Armenia, in Los Angeles,
co-sponsored Armenia’s participation at the travel show in close
collaboration with the Armenian Tourism Development Agency (ATDA)
based in Yerevan, Armenia.
On the first day of the show, which was held at the massive Los
Angeles Convention Center, every person received upon entry a flyer
that exclaimed "Welcome to Armenia" and which promoted traveling to
Armenia and Karabakh to see their natural beauty, history, and culture.
The distribution of the flyer to such a large crowd of potential
tourists was part of the AACC’s objective of introducing Armenia to
everyone, including to those for whom ‘Armenia’ might not have been
on the tip of their tongues, according to Nick Hacopian, who is a
member of the AACC and the Chair of the committee that organized
Armenia’s participation in the travel show.
"We’re putting Armenia on the map for a lot of people who might never
before have thought of traveling there," he said. People have to
think about Armenia, generally, before they will think about actually
traveling there, he added.
Armenia made a dynamic first appearance at the travel show through
its sponsorship of several cultural performances. The country
was represented on the "Global Beat Stage" with music and dance
performances by the Gevorkian Dance Academy, which performed modern
and folk dances in traditional attire. The Lilia Dance Group performed
Armenian folk dances on the second day of the show, as well.
Armenia and Karabakh also sponsored a "Destination Workshop" that
featured a slide show travelogue. This slide show, entitled "Welcome
to Armenia: Ancient Nation, New Republic," was presented by Matthew
Karanian and Robert Kurkjian, the authors of Armenia’s first-ever
commercial travel guidebook dedicated solely to Armenia and Karabakh.
The show attracted a standing-room-only crowd of more than 120 people
at the Convention Center’s "Destination Theatre."
The authors’ guidebook on Armenia, "The Stone Garden Guide: Armenia and
Karabagh," is the best-selling guide to the country and also highlights
the environment and conservation. It is the winner of three national
book awards, and has been featured on National Public Radio.
Armenian Consul General Grigor Hovhannissian attended the show and
said he was pleased to see the interest and enthusiasm that greeted
the Armenian presence at the show. "Tourism is a priority sector for
the country’s economic development," he said. "And the interest that
was generated by Armenia at the LA show is a very encouraging sign,"
he added.
Hovhannissian noted that 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.
Representatives of Levon Travel and Sidon Travel-two Los Angeles travel
agencies that offer tours to Armenia– were at the Armenia booth each
day to explain the logistics of traveling there. And several tour
operators traveled to Los Angeles from Armenia to be at the booth,
including Armenia Travel M; Elitar Travel; and Nueva Vista Travel.