Back in 2017 I had the chance to have
a very inspiring meeting with Arman Valesyan, United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) Project Manager and UNDP Project Assistant Ruzanna Hayrapetyan,
in Yerevan, Armenia.
After 2 years they shared with me the
remarkable results of their work. What was at the time mostly a series of smart
ideas on paper, is now a new reality on the ground. And this means: new
promotion of territory, culture, tradition, countryside; new jobs, a refreshed
involvement of local communities and of well-educated young professionals.
Rural Tourism in Armenia means this
and more. I already discussed in the past the tourism potential of the country,
and rural tourism really fits with its specificities. With rural tourism
visitors discover unique historic-cultural sights and monuments, taste local
cuisine and enjoy a wonderful weather. The intriguing and visionary UNDP
project make travelers’ need match with the local offer, unlocking the beauty
of the territory, the Armenian sense of community and hospitality, education
and IT.
Touristic potential of
Armenia
Armenia shapes its future to be a
unique sustainable destination (https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Armenia/Sustainable-tourism-in-Armenia-178185)
, building capacities in effective tourism planning and managing. The UNDP
‘’Integrated Rural Tourism Development’’ (IRTD) Project was launched in 2016,
with financial support from Russian Federation and in close partnership with
the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development of the Republic of
Armenia.
The project helps rural areas of
Armenia to boost and develop rural tourism with the objective to create income
generating opportunities for local population. A unique feature of this project
is the collaboration with the business sector, which gives rural people
opportunity to expand their services and create jobs.
“Tourism provides important
opportunities for Armenia, and for rural communities and undiscovered
destinations, but we need to ensure tourism growth is sustainable. That’s why
it’s critical to focus on innovative and acceptable value chain sectors of the
tourism industry to create the basis for sustainable tourism. With many of our
project managers and planners, we are able to create new rural destinations
that will offer new experiences to the country visitors and lasting benefits to
the project beneficiaries.” - Arman Valesyan, Project Manager, UNDP Armenia
Integrated Rural Tourism Development (IRTD) Project.
New tools for new goals
During the last two years, UNDP
“Integrated Rural Tourism Development” Project proved to be one of the
successful tourism development initiatives in the Republic of Armenia. The
Project introduced the rural tourism industry from the new perspective and made
tangible steps toward sustainable development of the sector.
One the major achievements of the
Project is the development of the Tourism Resource Management (TRM) tool. TRM
is the largest electronic database of all the rural tourism industry value
chain recourses of Armenia. TRM is equipped with analytical and reporting tools
to be used for the rural tourism products and destinations development
purposes. The Government of the Republic of Armenia requested to provide the
tool for all country other type of data collection purposes.
The second major success is the
establishment of the Tourism Research and Development (R&D) Centers in the
Marzes (regions) of the Republic of Armenia. Tourism R&Ds are established
in four Marzes (Tavush, Gegharqunik, Lori and Shirak) to involve youth into the
sector related research and promotion. Today, 30 newly graduates are involved
in the Centers’ daily activities and in close cooperation with the state and
academy to advance the tourism potential of the Marzes.
The third to be
mentioned innovative and successful outcome of the Project is the new approach
in cooperation with the private sector in the tourism industry, the so called
“Innovation Challenge Call” which is designed to motivate public and private
institutions to expand into the regions and create job places in the villages.
Another achievement within the
Project is the introduction of a new concept of the community-based and
decentralized hotels, as an alternative mean of revenue for the community to
generate and create an employment though operation of the abandoned
infrastructures that are renovated and used for community-based rural tourism
purposes. The opening of two types of the concepts to be launched in late 2019.
The last achievement to be
highlighted is the introduction of the internationally recognized “Project
Management for Sustainable Development” (PM4SD) qualification to enhance skills
in contribution for the Armenia’s tourism industry is opened for professionals.
The course is targeted for policy makers, tourism planners and investors, programme
managers, project managers and aspiring project managers in the tourism
industry, public and private tourism organizations, donors, professionals and
any key stakeholders of the tourism value chain in Armenia. It is an
international cooperation with the JLAG (http://www.jlageurope.com/) that successfully completed the first tailored
training course. The participants after the course completion were prepared for
the PM4SD-Foundation certification, accredited by APMG International
(https://apmg-international.com/).
Promising results
In the frames of the public-private
synergies promoted by UNDP (http://www.am.undp.org/content/armenia/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2018/-_discover-lori_-event-took-place-in-lori-region.html) the “Fairy Tale’’ house in the village Pambak
of Lori Marz was created. A unique touristic destination, where guests have
chance to taste Armenian traditional dishes, enjoy folk concerts and see or
participate in various ceremonies.
This
centre is unique not only because of its cultural and traditional folk,
but it is a gift to a community of villagers who had lost their hopes
to play a role in the big world of tourism. The founder, young but
experiecend mugician Hasmik Baghramyan, is well aware of her mission to
celebrate and cherish Armenian folk culture and share it witu locals and
visitors.
Before
founding the cultural center
in ‘’Byurakan’’ Hasmik spent years in Italy, where she studied and later
worked
in Vatican as a Chamber Orchestra artist. Being a professional
violinist, she
had her contribution in participating to the cultural environment in
Italy, where she came up with the idea to return to Armenia and create a
center that
will work on reviving Armenian traditions and rituals. After a while
Hasmik
realized, that to revive cultural traditions, rituals and festivals, it
is very
important to gather people who share the same passion as her and open a
cultural center.
‘’Fairy Tale’’ house is Hasmik’s
second successful project. She says this is only the beginning…
