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1. (sbu) sensitive but unclassified.  not for public internet.
2. (sbu) turkmen government media depict the newly developed avaza resort on the caspian sea as a popular, year-round vacation spot.  however, the climate on the caspian is not conducive to winter seaside vacations.  in the absence of genuine tourists in the wintertime, ministries and state agencies are forcing their employees to spend their winter vacations in avaza.  an employee of the ashgabat city electric power department, a unit of the ministry of electric power and industry, told pol/econ local staff member that each employee was required to go to avaza and stay a minimum of five days in one of the three hotels at the government rate of $24 per night.  few people want to do this, even at such a seemingly low price, because the average state employee's salary is $200 a month.  many prefer to spend their money on immediate needs rather than to go to a seaside resort in the off-season.  however, their employers deduct the cost of the hotel directly from their salary, so they have no choice but to acquiesce.
3. (sbu) post's local contacts doubt that the avaza project will be financially self-sustaining, given the massive investment to date and the lack of willing tourists.  according to turkmen state-run media, president berdimuhamedov plans to build a total of forty hotels at avaza, although only three have opened so far.  also planned are sport and recreation complexes that would accommodate 15,000 tourists.  at the official opening of avaza in june 2009, the president said his government had already spent over $1.5 billion on construction (reftel).  in addition, these new hotels will lose money every winter unless the turkmen government can force enough employees to go to avaza to cover the expenses, since the hotels are reportedly not allowed to close during the off- season.  turkmenistan's stringent visa regime means there will probably be few foreign tourists during any season.
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