Cableways usually make inaccessible areas accessible. However, they can also be used as an attraction. The shortest funicular is in Los Angeles and the longest in Armenia by the Tatev monastery. Local people in both places believe that the cableway helps the tourism industry in the area and attracts more tourists.
Angels Flight is the name of the shortest funicular that is located in Los Angeles. It has been transporting people since 1901 with only a few breaks that were necessary for maintenance. Its two wagons are called Sinai and Olivet and it takes them approximately one minute to go up the 96-meter-long line with elevation of 33 degrees. Angels Flight is also famous; anyone could have seen it in the movie called City of Angels or in TV series, Perry Masson.
The longest two-way cableway in the world opened at the beginning of October 2010 in Tatev, Armenia. As Novinky.cz informs, local people hope it will bring more tourists to the region as it will make otherwise inaccessible Tatev monastery more attractive to tourists. The cableway is 5.7 kilometers long and it takes travelers over the mountain pass of the Vorotan River. The construction of the cableway lasted eleven months and total expenses reached 13 million euros.
According to the Armenian PM Tigran Sargsyan, the cableway is a part of a bigger program. The authorities are planning to build a tourist complex to attract more visitors to the region. As a part of it a 26-kilometer-long road from Yerevan to the monastery has already been built. Local people are happy with the plans and some of them even say that the cableway is the world's eight wonder. Further development of infrastructure leading to the monastery and six neighboring villages is part of the program too.
The Tatev Revival Project started in 2008. It has been financed both from public and private sources. Armenian diaspora also contributed to the project. The monastery was built in 9th century and it is one of the oldest and the most important monasteries in Armenia that is why it is also a UNESCO World Heritage candidate.