YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Preconditions for developing rural tourism in Armenia’s Tavush province are being created, reports Armenpress.

Tourism Research and Development Center of Tavush opened in Ijevan within the framework of the project implemented by UNDP in Armenia.

The opening ceremony was attended by Dmitry Mariyasin, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Armenia, Vache Terteryan, First Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Development and etc.

“This Center will gather youth to discuss tourism development programs, prepare new tourism products, propose new and interesting things to tourists. The Center opened in the framework of Integrated Rural Tourism Development (IRTD) project, funded by Russia and implemented by UNDP in Armenia, in close partnership with the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development. The project aims at creating 60 new places for rural tourism throughout Armenia, attract ecotourism-lovers with a wonderful Armenian wine, help them to better recognize the Armenian nature and monuments. 3 million USD is provided for the project, it will be completed in 2019”, Dmitry Mariyasin said.

Almost all Armenian villages have been examined and many interesting ideas were revealed. The program is launched in Tavush with the hope that the Center, which is opened in partnership with the YSU Ijevan branch, will serve base for the new business. “Tavush is a unique combination of nature and culture, and there are perfect, hard-working people here. There are also interesting monuments which are difficult to reach, but we will help recovering the roads, as well as preparing tour guides. We will implement the project in other provinces as well”, Dmitry Mariyasin said.

Students and graduates of the YSU Ijevan branch, who have already passed trainings, are working at the newly-opened Center. The Center coordinator Pavel Asilbekyan said 10 villages of the province from Noyemberyan, Ijevan and Dilijan have been identified for the first stage. “We have outlined the potential of those villages which we can use for tourism development, starting from national traditions, dishes, ceremonies up to historical-cultural monuments”, he said.

“Tourism in Tavush really has potential. And we are convinced that this resources can be multiplied by the right combination of efforts. It is possible to make the province attractive for incoming and outgoing tourism by the combination of resources of the remaining villages of Tavush. Tavush can offer interesting packages of rural tourism, ecotourism. This Center pursues this goal”, Vache Terteryan said, adding that both tourism and economy will develop.

Evgeny Panteleev, Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of the Russian Federation to Armenia, said the Center is a complex assistance to rural communities and tourism development.

One of the core goals of this Center is to create management system in rural areas and educate local people on how to identify their communities as a tourism attraction and create income-generating tourism activities. It is also an important step to engage the local youth and give them chance to turn their ideas of tourism development into reality.