Armenia Adopts Dual Citizenship

Great news for Armenians of foreign citizenship, right? Erm, not really.

Draft bill "On dual citizenship" currently discussed by Armenian Parliament and expected to be adopted during final reading will enable increasing population of the country in several millions.

Basing on the document, if person who obtained citizenship of Armenia has passed military service in the country he lived he shall be released from the same service in Armenia.

The many details can be found at the source, but look at the second paragraph above: if you have not served your home country, you will be required to serve in the Armenian Army. In other words, you can be dragged into the army as a dual citizen. How lovely is that?

By the way, this is now in effect.

Source: Demaz

Armenia's Tourism Ranks 74th Worldwide

Maybe those nifty television advertisements didn't do the trick.

Armenia is the 74-th of 124 states in the international tourism rating list. Armenia is the third most popular tourist site among the CIS states and has disadvantage of only Georgia (the 66-th) and Russia (68-th).

The competitiveness of countries in the tourism sphere is defined by three main parameters – corresponding legislation, business area and infrastructures and human, culture and natural resources.

Armenia’s competitiveness mainly suffers from visa regime with the states whose citizens go touring most frequently, problems with nature protection, lack of local air and vehicle transportation infrastructures, etc.

The source also mentions that Switzerland is ranked first, while Chad is last.

I figure a good start would be to offer international-friendly tours to popular destinations. Oh, and fixing of the pot holes!

Source: Azg

Armenia Tries to Lure Tourists...with Noah and Goats!

You're wondering what all this goat business is about! Well, you see, Armenia is working hard to get as many touri$t$ into the country as possible. Here's their latest idea.

Armenia is gunning for its spot on the tourist map by marketing its religious attractions. The country's current slogan is "Noah's Route, Your Route," a nod to the belief that Mount Ararat is the place where Noah's Ark landed.

We know Armenia's probably not working with Sweden's budget, but they could probably benefit from a more cohesive collection. Beautiful scenery? Check. Goat portrait? Check. Random, unidentified toddlers? Check...and kind of creepy.

Any publicity is good publicity, folks!

Source: Jaunted

Indonesia Offers Visas to Armenians & Georgians

Always great to see Armenians getting more freedoms around the globe.

Citizens of Armenia and Georgia wishing to travel to Indonesia may obtain visas at its consulate in Armenia. The consulate is situated on Israelian street, 37, in Yerevan. Until now Armenians could obtain visas at Indonesia's embassy in Armenia, located in Kiev, Ukraine. The new procedure becomes effective from January 10.

So if you're a citizen, go get yours. Indonesia is a beautiful country!

Source: ArmenPress