Karabakh tourist arrivals dropped 16% in 2016 due to April war

PanARMENIAN.Net - Around 14,000 foreign travelers visited Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) in 2016, down by 16% against figures registered the previous year, the tourism department of Karabakh’s Economy Ministry told PanARMENIAN.Net

Around 16,000 tourists arrived in Artsakh in 2015.

The drop in the number of foreigners visiting Karabakh is driven by the four-day war in early April of last year.

Azerbaijan on April 2, 2016 unleashed a large-scale military offensive against Karabakh, which left hundreds killed and wounded on both sides. Armenia and Azerbaijan reached an agreement on the cessation of hostilities on April 5.

On the other hand, the number of tourists from Armenia has increased dramatically in the reporting period.

Immediately after the war, a 40% decline was registered in April-May, with the downturn amounting to 20% in the months that followed.