BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 14. A few days ago, we spread the word that Armenian separatism still continues on some international travel platforms. Thus, when searching on well-known travel platforms such as Airbnb and TripAdvisor, the names of settlements in Karabakh, once Armenianized, pop up, and one can see that the "sale" of various catering facilities in these territories continues.
In spite of our pleas to the travel platforms Airbnb and TripAdvisor on this matter, they keep dodging the issue.
For almost thirty years, Armenians have used the ancestral Azerbaijani lands occupied by them - Karabakh and East Zangezur - for their own purposes, including tourism. On international tourism platforms, they tried to present the occupied Azerbaijani lands to the world as their own. Their main goal was to misinform people coming to these territories and present them as "historical Armenian lands."
But once our lands were liberated from occupation, the world realized that Azerbaijan was the real owner of them. Nonetheless, it is intolerable that global travel websites like Airbnb and TripAdvisor promote hotels and eateries that were functioning unlawfully in Karabakh throughout the occupation.
The secretary general of the Azerbaijan Tourist Guides Association Tural Musayev told Trend that the placement of these ads is a fraud.
"To prevent the placement of such ads, we need to look at their IP addresses to see where they are linked to. These IP addresses can be blocked. However, if Armenians are posting ads on international platforms like Airbnb, and TripAdvisor, you can complain en masse and have them removed. Usually, the administration of these ad sites first conducts proceedings, and if the filed complaint is confirmed, they eliminate the problem themselves," he said.
Expert Rahman Guliyev noted that for almost thirty years, Armenians have been using the ancestral Azerbaijani lands occupied by them for their purposes.
"They also used Azerbaijani lands for tourism purposes. The aim was also to raise the profile of tourism in Karabakh, and attract the attention of the world. On international tourism platforms, they tried to pass off the occupied Azerbaijani lands to the world as their own. Their main goal was to misinform people coming to these territories and present them as "historical Armenian lands.". However, after the liberation of our lands from occupation, the world saw that the true owner of these territories is Azerbaijan. It is unacceptable that international tourism platforms such as Airbnb and TripAdvisor still label tourist sites and restaurants that were illegally operating in Karabakh during the occupation. Armenia is not abandoning its insidious policy. In our territories, which were under Armenian occupation for almost 30 years, the tourist infrastructure was also destroyed," he said.
According to Guliyev, the territory of Karabakh has great tourist potential.
"Before the Armenian occupation, about 80,000–100,000 tourists visited these territories during the year. Although we could not enter any tourist markets at that time, nevertheless, this infrastructure served the population living there. The damage caused by Armenians in Karabakh to Azerbaijani tourism alone is estimated at $100 billion. Advertisements posted after the occupation of our lands by Armenians on various platforms to attract tourists to Karabakh remain to this day on platforms such as Airbnb, and TripAdvisor. Azerbaijani lands were liberated from occupation, and the placement of these ads by Armenians shows their perfidy. They are already used to lying, and the similar ads they post are irrelevant. Nevertheless, we must insist and seek the removal of such ads from these platforms," he said.
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