Saturday, December 12, 2009

Of all the emerging destinations in religious tourism, the one that just may possess the greatest potential is Armenia



In December issue of the Tourism Review Kevin J. Wright, president of the World Religious Travel Association, shares his vision on emerging faith-based travel destinations for the 21st century religious travelers. He figures out 3 main destinations - Armenia, Cyprus and Jordan since "each of these destinations boast a rich religious history and culture, while also serving home to many important pilgrimage sites."

Touching upon Armenia, Kevin J. Wright writes:


"Of all the emerging destinations in religious tourism, the one that just may possess the greatest potential is Armenia. For one, Armenia is situated in the highlands surrounding the Biblical mountains of Ararat, the very place where according to the Old Testament, Noah’s Ark landed after the flood. Secondly, Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion in 301 A.D., which is believed to have originally been evangelized by two of Jesus’ apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew (Note: It wasn’t until around 314 A.D. that Constantine recognized Christianity in the Roman Empire). As such, Armenians are considered by many “the first Christians.” The result? Armenia possesses a very rich and ancient Christian history with some 4,000 churches available to visiting religious travelers. And more than ever before, Armenia itself is beginning to reach out to the global religious travel market and sharing its message."

While being in Yerevan, Armenia, Kevin J. Wright foresaw "Armenia to become leading Biblical and faith based destination". Let this become true in God.

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