Project leader: Areg Mickaelian, aregmick@yahoo.com
Project location: Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Israel, Turkey, United Arab Emirates
Project Description:
People usually travel to get acquainted with culture, history, art and architecture of a country or a city. Why not add an Astronomy context to tourism? Why not visit observatories, laboratories, science museums, planetariums and archeoastronomy sites? South West Asia has always been visible to the world due to its science and culture. The Astro tourism package will continue this tradition by grouping ancient and modern astronomical attractions of the region.
Astro Tourism may significantly contribute to education by involving school pupils and students in cognitive tours to research organizations. It requires a tight collaboration between science and tourism, i. e. research institutions and individual astronomers on one hand, and travel agencies and experts in tourism on the other hand. It also concerns the organization of Astronomical conferences and other events, as in this case a number of astronomers travel to the given country combining science and tourism. Astronomy will also benefit from promoting Astro Tourism, both by its wider advertisement and financially.