Marriott Removes Controversial Artsakh Tour After Global Armenian Advocacy Campaign

Marriott Bonvoy has removed a controversial tourism package to Azerbaijan-occupied Artsakh after a five-day international advocacy campaign led by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), Armenian National Committee organizations around the world and coalition partners.

The tour, which had been available through Marriott’s activities platform and was eligible for Marriott Bonvoy rewards points, offered travelers a guided visit to occupied Artsakh, including the cities of Shushi and Stepanakert. Critics said the package ignored the region’s Armenian history and the forced displacement of its indigenous Armenian population following Azerbaijan’s 2023 military offensive and ethnic cleansing.

The controversy began after the Center for Armenian Research and Analysis (CARA) published an investigation on July 27 highlighting the listing. The report argued that Marriott’s promotional materials erased Artsakh’s Armenian identity by failing to mention its centuries-old role as a center of Armenian civilization and Christianity while also omitting any reference to Azerbaijan’s blockade, military assault and the forced displacement of roughly 150,000 Armenians.

The report quickly gained attention across Armenian media and social media platforms, prompting a coordinated international campaign led by the ANCA, its sister organizations across Europe and the Armenian Diaspora, and other coalition partners. Marriott removed the listing less than five days later.

“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 in a statement.

“We were encouraged by the rapid global response that got this tour taken down within five days — less than 120 hours — and will, of course, remain vigilant against all those who seek to enrich themselves through genocide,” he added.

According to CARA, the tour advertised visits to several sites across occupied Artsakh, including the iconic “We Are Our Mountains” monument, also known as Tatik-Papik. The listing reportedly described the monument only as “a notable example of regional stone art and architecture” without mentioning its Armenian origins.

“That silence is not sloppy copywriting,” CARA wrote in its report. “It is part of the plan.”

The advocacy groups argued that promoting tourism in the region without acknowledging the displacement of its Armenian population risks legitimizing Azerbaijan’s control over Artsakh while overlooking what international legal experts and human rights organizations have described as the ethnic cleansing of the territory’s Armenian population.

The ANCA noted that Azerbaijan continues to prevent the collective return of Artsakh’s displaced Armenians, while 19 Armenian hostages remain imprisoned in Baku. The organization also accused Azerbaijan of continuing to destroy Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Artsakh and maintaining its military occupation of internationally recognized Armenian territory.

Marriott International, one of the world’s largest hotel companies with a market capitalization exceeding $100 billion, has not publicly commented on the removal of the tour.

—

Support independent reporting from the region by subscribing to The Armenian Report. Our team is funded solely by readers like you.