ANCA-led international campaign prompts Marriott to remove Artsakh tourism package

(Horizon Media / WASHINGTON)—Marriott Bonvoy has removed a controversial tourism package promoting travel to Artsakh following a five-day international campaign led by the Armenian National Committee of America and Armenian advocacy organizations worldwide.

The 14-hour tour, advertised as the “Karabakh: Shusha-Khankendi Tour,” offered guided visits to the Azerbaijani-occupied Armenian cities of Shushi and Stepanakert. The listing made no reference to Artsakh’s Armenian history or to Azerbaijan’s blockade, military assault and forced displacement of the region’s indigenous Armenian population.

The tour was available through Marriott’s activities platform and could be booked using Marriott Bonvoy points. It included a stop at Artsakh’s iconic “We Are Our Mountains” monument, commonly known as Tatik-Papik, which the listing described only as an example of regional stone art and architecture without acknowledging its Armenian identity or significance.

The Center for Armenian Research and Analysis first drew attention to the package on July 27. The ANCA, together with Armenian National Committee offices across the diaspora, coalition partners and media organizations, subsequently launched a coordinated international campaign calling on Marriott to remove the listing. The package was taken down within five days.

“Marriott had no business profiting from the suffering of Artsakh’s ethnically cleansed Armenians—no right to run tours normalizing Azerbaijan’s genocide of an indigenous population,” ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian said, welcoming the rapid international response.

The ANCA stressed that Artsakh’s displaced Armenian population remains barred by Azerbaijan from returning safely and collectively to its homeland, while Armenian prisoners continue to be held in Baku and Armenian churches and cultural monuments remain under threat.