Description

The ARC-HE-TOUR-DEV initiative is a multi-year project spanning 36 months, designed to trigger sustainable socio-economic development in the rural regions of the Republic of Armenia. Our core strategy involves enhancing tourism attractiveness and improving sector-specific competence to establish and grow an integrated tourism system. This system is specifically designed to benefit the rural communities residing near significant cultural and archaeological sites.

We focus on three key archaeological sites as relevant case studies:
1. Garni, in Kotayk Province.
2. Dvin, in Ararat Province.
3. Aruch, in Aragatsotn Province.

These sites were chosen based on specific criteria:
• Their location in diverse rural areas of Armenia, facilitating the nationwide dissemination of project-transferred skills to economically marginalized territories;
• Their high level of material cultural value, crucial for attracting cultural tourism;
• The presence of active research projects contributing to site and tourism management plans, or their status as established cultural tourism destinations;
• Their accessibility from Yerevan and from each other within a 2-hour drive, serving as a foundation for an integrated pilot tourist district;
• Their direct link to a nearby rural community, targeted for rural cultural tourism development;
• Their potential to create a virtuous dissemination network, supporting the "pilot tourist district" and encouraging national replicability.

Project activities are structured across three key sectors:
1. Cultural heritage protection and cultural tourism facilities creation;
2. Capacity building – Development of Human Capital;
3. Support of rural communities’ income – Tourism Economy.

The project is executed by the University of Florence (Università degli Studi di Firenze - SAGAS Department).

Our Target Group includes:
• Public sector owners/managers of archaeological sites;
• Rural communities located nearby archaeological sites;
• Families residing in rural areas within municipalities where archaeological sites are present;
• Staff of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (IAE RAS NA) and "Service for the Protection of Historical Environment and Cultural Museum-Reservations" SNCO;
• Individuals residing in rural communities where archaeological sites are present.