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Home , City tourism, Dilijan, Shamakhyan, Tourism in Armenia, Tourist attraction

Technical Assistance Consultant’s Report

Project Number: 45415 June 2014

Armenia: Urban Development in Secondary (Financed by the Urban Environmental Infrastructure Fund under the Urban Financing Partnership Facility)

CITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN

VOLUME II - ANNEXES

Prepared by Fernando de Marcos , ; 03-06-2014

For: Internal document for Consultants team

Appendix 1 2

CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 03 June 2014)

Currency Unit – Dram (AMD) AMD1.00 = $0.00242 $1.00 = AMD 413,308

ABBREVIATIONS

ADB - Asian Development Bank ARDEP - Armenia Regional Development Project ARRM - Armenian Resident Mission, CDP - development/investment plan CBS - Cost breakdown structure CMS - Consultant Management System COE - Council of CoP Communities of Practice DMC - ADB Developing member country DFID - Department for International Development (UK) LSG - Local Self-Government Bodies MOE - Ministry of Economy MOU - Memorandum of understanding MTA - Ministry of Territorial Administration MTEF - Medium-term expenditure framework MOUD - Ministry of Urban Development NGO - Nongovernment organization NSS - National Statistical Service PATA Policy and Advisory Technical Assistance PPP - Private Public Projects PPTA - Project preparatory technical assistance OSCE - Organization for security and co-operation in Europe UNDP - Development Programme UOP - Urban Operational Plan USS - Urban Sector Strategy Q - Quarter REDAM - Regional Development in Armenia SWOT - strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats TA - technical assistance TACIS - Technical Assistance for the CIS and Mongolia

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Staff (according Terms of reference) Fernando de Marco FDM – Senior urban planner and team leader (intl.) Robert Romo RR – Senior urban infrastructure engineer (intl.) James Jessamine JJ – Cultural heritage and specialist (intl.) Mónica Batán Zamora MBZ – Economic development specialist (intl.) François Moulin FM – Urban finance specialist and economist (intl.)) Jörg Fischer JF – Geographic information system specialist and Urban planner (intl.) Armen Keshishyan AK – Urban infrastructure, , tourism, and institutional support consultant (national) Samvel Bareyan SB – Urban Finance and Economic Support Consultant (national) Yeritsian HY – Urban Planner and GIS Support (national)

In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.

Appendix 1 4

CONTENTS Page I. APPENDIX 1: ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS 7 A. Geographical situation, 7 B. Climate 8 C. Geology, 9 1. Geo-resources/Mining, 9 D. Hydrology 10 E. Soils 10 F. Vegetation 11 G. Fauna 13 H. Natural risks and hazards 13 I. Protected Areas 15 II. APPENDIX 2: TOURIST ASSESSMENT 17 A. Introduction 17 1. Background 17 2. Definitions 18 B. Current Situation 19 1. Attractions 19 a. 20 b. Dilijan of Local History and Art Gallery 21 c. Dilijan Mineral Springs 23 d. Theatres 23 e. Dilijan Music Academy and Dilijan Art Academy 23 f. Dilijan 23 g. Domestic Architecture 24 2. Accommodation 24 3. Tourism Infrastructure 26 a. Tourist Information 26 b. Tourism Signage 26 c. Transport Issues 27 d. Institutional Framework 27 e. Telecoms and Internet 27 f. Banking Services 28 C. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Tourism Sector 29 1. Key Strengths 29 a. Natural Assets 29 b. Market Assets 29 c. Built Assets 29 d. Cultural Assets 29 2. Key Opportunities 29 3. Key Weaknesses 29 a. Support infrastructure 29 b. Planning 29 c. Product 30 d. Human resources 30 e. Marketing 30 f. Community involvement 30 4. Key Threats 30 a. Natural Assets 30 b. Support Infrastructure 30 Appendix 1 5

c. Human Resources 30 d. Marketing 31 e. Community Development 31 D. Tourism Market Assessment 32 1. National Strategy 32 2. Visitor by Origin and Purpose 34 3. Visitors by Destination and Purpose 38 4. Visitor Expenditure 41 5. Domestic Visitors 43 6. Visitor Arrival Estimates 44 E. . Economic Development 45 1. The role of tourism in economic development 45 2. Economic Impacts 45 3. The role of tourism in investment positioning 46 F. Dilijan Draft Tourism Business Strategy 47 1. Objectives 47 1. Bird Watching Infrastructure 48 G. Potential Tourism Projects 52 1. General 52 2. development 52 3. 52 4. Potential Tourism-related Development Projects 53 5. Potential projects 53 a. Area Access 53 b. Local Access 53 c. Extend Tourism Season 54 d. Future Tourism Development 54 e. Streetscape and Urban Design 54 f. Transport Information 55 g. Human Resource Development 55 H. Draft Project Evaluation Matrix 56 1. The Evaluation Process 56 2. Desirable Criteria 56 3. Draft Evaluation Matrix Sheet 56 III. APPENDIX 3: COMMUNICATION MATERIAL 58 A. GIS-Mapping 58 1. General information - maps and graphics 58 2. Detailed strategic information – maps and graphics 58 B. Desk study to provide examples of cities in Europe and Asia with similar development issues, 59 1. The Bilbao Effect 59 2. Glasgow City of Culture 60 3. Tourism Observatory of Avila, . 61 a. Categories of effects: 61 4. Other innovative and ambitious transportation practices in Europe. Project collection 62 C. Organization of a public consultation to share the objectives and main components, and finalize the CDP based on the feedback from all stakeholders. 62 IV. APPENDIX 4: LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES 63 A. List of tables 63 B. List of figures 63 C. List of maps 63

Appendix 1 6

Appendix 1 7

I. APPENDIX 1: ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

A. Geographical situation,

1. Situated in the Aghstev valley, Dilijan is covered with dense forests and situated in mountainous landscape. The elevation varies between1100-1510m above the sea-level. The total area within administrative boundaries of the urban community is 4301.5 hectares. The DilijanNational Park, which is a forest area, is located within the community with a total area of 1786.4 hectares. Aghstev River with its numerous tributaries flows across the community.

Map 1: Topographical map

2. Embedded in the South Caucasian range, different locations of slopes and severe complicated relief in a relatively small area, create unique diversity of natural conditions. Besides foothill and alpine zones, vertical alteration landscapes are well expressed here. Especially average mountain zone is well expressed at altitudes of 1200- 1800m.

3. Due to mountainous relieves slopes are generally very steep.

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Map 2: Slopes

B. Climate

4. Dilijan is characterized by temperate warm and humid climatewith relatively cool summers, which is characteristic of a mountainous and forested area.. An average annual temperature fluctuation doesn’t exceed 24°C. In low-mountain section of the community, annual average air temperature is 9.2°C to 10.5°C degrees, in January -0.6ºC to -1.3°C, July +19.9ºC to +21.1ºC.Absolute maximum temperature is +37°C and absolute minimum is - 26°C.. The time period without frosts varies from 200 to 210 days. Snow cover thickness ranges from 5 to 50cm, and on northern slopes sometimes it exceeds 70 cm, making those areas inaccessible during winter time. Average annual precipitations vary from 537mm (foothill zone) to 850-860 mm (highland zone). Maximum rainfall is observed in spring (about 35% of annual norm), and minimum quantity of rainfall in winter (about 12%).

Table 1: Dilijan climate

J F M A M J J A S O N D Total Max. Temperature ºC 2 2 6 12 17 22 25 24 21 16 9 3 13.3 Min. Temperature -8 -7 -4 1 5 9 11 11 7 3 -1 -5 1.8 Hours of Sunshine (daily) 4 4 5 6 7 9 11 10 9 6 5 3 2403 Monthly rainfall 18 25 38 61 96 87 54 44 37 42 32 20 554

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C. Geology,

5. Dilijan is located in young folded mountain chains with very high instability of slopes. Rocks are mainly Eocene sedimentary (marine sedimentary rocks, brown colours on the map), Jurassic volcanogenic (marine volcano sedimentary rocks, blue colours on the map)and Cretaceous (marine sedimentary rocks, limestones, green colours on the map) substrates, alternating with intrusive rocks and quaternary volcanoes (red and black colours)1.Relief of the territory is complicated, River Aghstev channel and terraces are smooth but slopes aresteep with cut off ravines. Urban and adjacent areas are characterized by high power alluvial-terraces (10-30m) clays, clay-sand, and gravel.Geological structure is complicated and diverse. Hydrogeological conditions and hazardous geological processes (landslides) require that specific building codes applied during construction of residential and large scale commercial buildings.

Map 3: Geology

1. Geo-resources/Mining,

6. There are many and various metal and non-metal mines in the territory. From metals, antimony,copper and other non-ferrous and precious elements, iron and manganese mines are met in theterritory, as for non-metallic minerals: limestone, sand, dolomite, macadam, boulder, clay,proliferate, sandstone and other construction materials mines. No metal mines are being exploited. Most important mining resources have been detected near to Margahovit with several gold and silver deposits (Au, Ag). However, it should be noted, that

1 Geological Map of Republic of Armenia Ministry of Nature Protection of Republic of Armenia, Geological Agency, Scale 1:500 000,Author Ed.KharzyaN Appendix 1 10 these deposits have not been proved as economically feasible and are not exploited by any company. Environmental protection regulations of National park would impose important limitations for any mining industry.

D. Hydrology

7. Due to relatively high rainfall the hydrological network is well developed and the area is rich in surface waters. The main drainage course, called Aghstevriver, flow through the city of Dilijan showing a marked mountainous hydrological run-off regime.The main tributaries of Aghstev River are Hovvajur, Shtoghanajur, Haghartsin, Bldan and Getik. Main highway, roads and other construction buildings along Aghstevriver are protected by embankments from flooding events that may occur during heavy rainfall events and snow melt in the end of spring and early summer.

8. There are two major mineral water springs in Dilijan, -calcium-magnesium mineral composition water spring near Fioletovo and sodium mineral water spring in Dilijan. Spring “Bldan” located in N-W of Dilijan is distinguished by its industrial significance and is marked as “Dilijan” mineral water. It is one of the most valuable springs in the Republic and is used for healing purposes.

Map 4: Hydrology

E. Soils

9. Land cover of Dilijan Community and National park is represented by a mosaic of mainly two types of soils: forest andmountain-meadow. Forest belt is dominated by Brown forest soils, which are remarkable by powerand good differentiation of horizons and coexist with Brown steppe soils. This carbonate-humus soils are developed on maternal rocks rich in carbonates. Mountain-meadow soils are developed in sub-alpine zone. In areas protected Appendix 1 11 from erosion, these soils developed are up to 40cm thick, powerful humus layer. Alluvial fertile lands arewidespread in relatively large areas ofvalleys, which are mostly turned to cultivated lands.

F. Vegetation

10. The forests mainly are of natural origin. The Vegetation of the National Park is dominated by forest. It is mainly dominated by deciduousspecies, such as oriental beech (Fagusorientalis), Georgian oak (Quercusiberica), Q. macranthera,common and oriental hornbeam (Carpinusbetulus, C. orientalis).

11. Stands with predominance of tree species forming main forest are represented either by homogeneous oak, beech and hornbeams trees, or mixed forests with different combinations of thespecies. Forest ecosystems, are showing certain prevalence of Georgian oak (Q. iberica) forests, generally on the southern slopes ofthe middle forest zone and orientalbeech forests on the northern slopes. The upper zone forest (above 1500 meters) is represented byQ. macranthera. Hornbeam occurs mainly in mixed forests. Oriental hombeam reaches up to 1500mabove sea level in the sub-forest of lower forest zone, while Caucasian hombeam spreading all overthe forest zone up to 2000m. National Park forest ecosystems are characterized by Coniferousforests. Pine (Pinussosnovskyi) often forms dense forests and located slopes of the Areguni andPambak ranges in the vicinity of serpentine Dilijan highway. There are lots of pine trees in Dilijanand on nearby slopes. Juniper sparse forests are of great interest in the territory, which spread in thevalley of Getik River, as well as on dry slopes of .

12. Cultivated areas are located in lower areas of the valleys and near to urban settlements.

Map 5: Land use Appendix 1 12

13. Land use classification of Postel2 Globcover3 project is shown in the table below

2POSTEL is a thematic centre associating R&D and services to describe the soil and vegetation from Earth Observation satellite data, at regional and global scales. It is supported by several national public institutions. 3The objective of the GLOBCOVER / ESA initiative is to develop a service to produce a global land-cover map for the year 2005-2006, using the fine resolution (300 m) mode data acquired over the full year 2005 by the MERIS sensor on-board the ENVISAT satellite. Appendix 1 13

Table 2: Land use classification

Value Label 14 Rainfedcroplands 20 Mosaic cropland (50-70%) / vegetation (grassland/shrubland/forest) (20-50%) 30 Mosaic vegetation (grassland/shrubland/forest) (50-70%) / cropland (20-50%) 40 Closed to open (>15%) broadleaved evergreen or semi-deciduous forest (>5m) 50 Closed (>40%) broadleaved deciduous forest (>5m) 60 Open (15-40%) broadleaved deciduous forest/woodland (>5m) 70 Closed (>40%) needleleaved evergreen forest (>5m) 90 Open (15-40%) needleleaved deciduous or evergreen forest (>5m) 100 Closed to open (>15%) mixed broadleaved and needleleaved forest (>5m) 110 Mosaic forest or shrub-land (50-70%) / grassland (20-50%) 120 Mosaic grassland (50-70%) / forest or shrubland (20-50%) 130 Closed to open (>15%) (broadleaved or needleleaved, evergreen or deciduous) shrubland (<5m) 134 Closed to open (>15%) herbaceous vegetation (grassland, savannas or lichens/mosses) 150 Sparse (<15%) vegetation 180 Closed to open (>15%) grassland or woody vegetation on regularly flooded or waterlogged soil - Fresh, brackish or saline water 190 Artificial surfaces and associated areas (Urban areas >50%) 200 Bareareas 210 Waterbodies 220 Permanentsnow and ice 230 No data (burnt areas, clouds,…) Source: PostelGlobcover, http://postel.obs-mip.fr/?-Biogeophysical-Products,52- 4

G. Fauna

14. There is a wide variety of rich fauna around Dilijan and the National Park. There a lot of Invertebrates species, mussels and arthropods, and vertebrates including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, including several species included within the Red list of International Unionfor Conservation of Nature.

H. Natural risks and hazards

15. The area suffers numerous landslides in the case of saturation of water in the ground surface. During the winter season, the ground turns into mud due to abundant rains, which erode the soils and increase the risks of landslides. This geological instability of numerous areas rise very important problems for road and railway infrastructure. Several urban districts of Dilijan are also affected by landslides endangering urban infrastructure and residence areas.

4The Version 2 of bi-monthly composites of GLOBCOVER surface reflactances at 300m resolution is available for downloading: 10 mossaïcs cover the period from May 2005 to April 2006 (example below). Appendix 1 14

Map 6: Natural hazards

16. There are active landslide processes developed on the slopes. Slopes with western orientation, in some places are distinguished by denudation of maternal rocks. Orography major units formed by Aghstev and its tributaries created deep erosion lines and valleys. They are narrow, mostly V-shaped, extending in some places and create small inter- mountain concavities. Tectonic movements have great impact on valleys morphology. Structural and accumulative heights are preserved in river valleys. Slope processes are quite active in the territory of Dilijan community. There are many active landslides. Major landslides are Dilijan, Hagharstin, Parz Lake, Fioletovo and etc. Among slope processes, defluxion (in forest areas), stone fall and other phenomena are widespread.

17. Armenia is situated in a seismically active zone. Earthquake magnitudes reach M= 7.1 (according to historical and paleoseismic estimations). Since the hazard has been considerably underestimated, the seismic resistance of buildings and structures is well below the level required for this high magnitude of seismic risk. The absence of state policy in the field of seismic risk reduction led to the dis aster in in 1988. In 1999, the adopted the strategy of seismic risk reduction. Several institutions under the coordination of the National Survey for Seismic Protection (NSSP) developed a uniquely structured program.5 Seismic Hazard Assessment (SHA) involves long-term and current seismic hazard assessment. Current seismic hazard assessment is essential for population seismic safety and elaborating counter-measures by the central and local governments.

18. Flooding events are frequent to major river beds. Aghstev riverbanks frequently suffer from flooding events. In urban areas of Dilijan Aghstev river course is canalized to prevent dangerous flooding events produced by heavy rainfall events and snow melt in the

5 Mikayel Melkumyan (Seismic Risk Assessment and Mitigation Strategy in Armenia Appendix 1 15 end of spring and early summer. During recent floods6Aghstev river flooded arable land, orchards and greenhousescausing important economic a losses

I. Protected Areas

19. “Dilijan” National Park, as a State Nature Reserve, was established on the basis of the decisionN341 of the Board of Ministers of Armenian SSR in 1958. The aim of the Dilijan State Reserveestablishment was to provide preservation of oak and beech (mezophile) forests, a relic species ofthird era, as berry-yew and Rhododendron Caucasian. The state reserve became known as Dilijan National Park later in 2002. The park contains some forty varieties of tree species, mainly oak, beech, maple and elm in forests which cover 94% of the park territory.The National Park, which now occupies around 24,000 hectares, is well known for its forest landscapes, rich biodiversity, medicinal mineral water springs, natural and cultural . In addition to the National Park the forests of Dilijan cover an area of more than 34000 hectares. Rich in its fauna species to be found in the park include , , marten, otter, lynx, sylvan cat, Persian squirrel, sylvan dormouse, hedgehog, , European red deer, wild hog, pheasant, quail, partridge, Caspian , culver, bald eagle, , pygmy eagles, golden eagle, hawk and others.

20. The National Park, which is administered by the Ministry of Nature Protection, is divided into three zones; protected area, recreational zone and economic zone. All activities with the park must conform to a set of criteria so as not to impact on the ecosystem’s equilibrium or put at risk the cultural or scientific assets of the protected area. Human activities are generally confined to scientific research and tourism within the Protected Zone. In the other zones, the recreational and economic zones, activities must be in full conformity with park protection.

21. The park, which is widely used for walking, trekking and cycling, has its own information and interpretative centre and a small number of trails. The most developed of the trails is the Jukhtavank to Nature Trail which extends around some 10 kilometres to the west of Dilijan. This trail is relatively well developed, is signposted, and contains a number of thematic areas for wildlife and flora as well as three picnic spots. The majority of the park area is not as well presented and there is considerable scope for developing additional trails and improving access from Dilijan and other points. Additionally the tourism offer of the attraction could be diversified by the development of additional activities, particularly in the area of eco and adventure tourism by exploiting the river and mountain area.

22. However, spatial distribution of 5 settlementslocated in administrative boundaries of National Park and town Dilijan, as well as agricultural land use patterns, have not been taken into account while implementingorganization of the state reserve. Subsequently, active economic exploitation appeared in the territory ofthe reserve, violating the protection regulations.

6 Discharges of 21.4 m3/s and 26,7 m3/s have been registered on April 24th, 29th ,and May 3th. to 15th of 2006 respectively. Probability of discharge of these floods was estimated to be two years according Geocom Tld.. Appendix 1 16

Map 7: Protected areas

Appendix 2 17

II. APPENDIX 2: TOURIST ASSESSMENT

A. Introduction

1. Background

23. Lying some kilometres to the northeast of Yerevan Dilijan is reputed to be one of the most attractive towns in Armenia by virtue of its natural setting in a heavily forested mountain valley and its distinctive ‘alpine’ architectural vocabulary, indeed Dilijan is often referred to as ‘Little ’. Dilijan and Marz are one of the major tourism destinations in Armenia. Focussing primarily on serving the domestic market this forested , which is surrounded by the Dilijan National Park, has been home to many Armenian artists, composers and filmmakers. As a resort Dilijan reached its zenith during the Soviet era when it functioned largely as a health spa which offered its visitors pure mountain air.

Figure 1. Provinces of Armenia

24. Since the dissolution of the Dilijan in common with other health has had to adjust from a planned to a market economy and the loss of union and enterprise funded tourists to the resort. As a result of this, and a series of economic crisis that Armenia has undergone tourist numbers were greatly reduced. Like many Armenian towns it’s population is steadily declining from the 23,700 reported in the 1989 census, to 14,846 in the 2001 census, with an estimated population of 15,600 by 2009.Today the mayor’s office reports that the population has fallen further to around 8,000, a fall of 66% since 1989. This population fall has been principally driven by a massive reduction in economic activity in the town leading to outward migration.

25. Recent initiatives by both the Government andprivate foundations aim to redress the town’s decline through investments in both the tourism and education sectors. The Tufenkian Foundation for Cultural Heritage has financed and developed the ‘Old Dilijan

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Complex in the centre of town, integrated . Executed in the local architectural vocabulary the complex contains a , , shops, craft workshops and an information centre. On the educational front the RVVZ Foundation has sponsored the development of the Dilijan United World College an international boarding school on an 88 hectare site with up to 650 students opening in 2014. A second key educational development is the proposed cooperation between the American University of Armenia and the at the bank’s new Dilijan Training Centre. This initiative will create a tertiary establishment offering both undergraduate and post graduate courses in economics and business studies.

26. These ongoing investments will further strengthen Dilijan ‘s position as a tourism centre and diversify economic activity into the educational sectorthis has led to a general appreciate of the town’s future role as a ‘tourism and educational hub’.

27. In spite of the ongoing flagship developments Dilijan is confronted by a number of issues which may impede its continuing development. These issues, which are the focus of the current programme include; the absence of an integrated planning framework, weak institutional structures and coordination, insufficient municipal financial resources, and substandard infrastructure. This report examines the development potential for the tourism and cultural sector and the key issues to be resolved. Finally a number of potential interventions are identified for financing by the Asian Development Bank within the context of the current programme.

2. Definitions

28. The definitions of terms used28. in this report are United Nations World Tourism Organisation and are based on Standard International Classification of Tourism Activities (SICTA) and conform to the third revision of the International Standard Industrial Classification of all Economic Activities (ISIC). These are as described below: 29. Tourism: Tourism is defined as the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited. The use of this broad concept makes it possible to identify tourism between countries as well as tourism within a country. "Tourism" refers to all activities of visitors, including both "tourists (overnight visitors)" and "same-day visitors". 30. Arrivals:Arrivals cannot be assumed to be equal to the number of persons travelling. When a person visits the same country several times a year, an equal number of arrivals is recorded. Likewise, if a person visits several countries during the course of a single trip, his/her arrival in each country is recorded separately. Arrivals associated with inbound tourism correspond to those arrivals by international visitors within the economic territory of the country of reference and include both tourists and same-day non-resident visitors. 31. Overnight stays and length of stay: Figures on overnight stays refer to the number of nights spent by non-resident tourists in and similar establishments, or in all types of 2.4 Infrastructure 32. Expenditure in the country of origin: Tourism expenditure data are obtained from the item " receipts" of the balance of payments of each country and correspond to the "expenditure of non-resident visitors (tourists and same-day visitors)" within the economic activity of the country of reference. 33. : Overnight stays can also be referred to as the number of nights by resident tourists in hotels and similar establishments, or in all types of tourism accommodation establishments.

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B. Current Situation

34. Dilijan and the surrounding area is one of the leading tourist destinations in Armenia outside of the capital, Yerevan. Anecdotal evidence suggests that tourism is one of the leading, if not the leading, source of economic activity in the city. Set amid the Dilijan National Park in a dramatic and attractive mountain setting the town and the surrounding have a wide range of existing tourism attractions and an extensive and varied range of accommodation stock.

35. This section broadly examines the nature and range of existing tourist attractions as well as available accommodation in the city. Tourism infrastructure, and in particular transport –related infrastructure, is examined and a range of key issues impacting on the development of the tourism and cultural sector in the city are identified. Finally a SWOT analysis setting out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the present tourism offer has been prepared.

1. Attractions

36. Dilijan and the surrounding area have a wide variety of tourist attractions including historic sites, cultural attractions, scenic areas, wildlife and health spas. The principle attractions have been broadly assessed and are set out in this section.

Figure 2. Attractions, Regional Context

23. Within the study area land use and tourism resources have been fully mapped on the project GIS data base for reference, an illustration of central area mapping is set out below in Figure 2.2.

Appendix 2 20

Figure 3. Land Use and Tourism Inventory Mapping

a. Dilijan National Park

37. Perhaps more than any other attraction the Dilijan National Park, or the Dilijan Reserve, does more to set the context and backdrop to the tourism sector in the city.To safeguard the natural environment around Dilijan the state forest reserve was founded in 1958 to become known as Dilijan National Park later in 2002. The park contains some forty varieties of tree species, mainly oak, beech, maple and elm in forests which cover 94% of the park territory.The National Park, which now occupies around 24,000 hectares, is well known for its forest landscapes, rich biodiversity, medicinal mineral water springs, natural and cultural monuments. In addition to the National Park the forests of Dilijan cover an area of more than 34000 hectares. Rich in its fauna species to be found in the park include brown bear, wolf, marten, otter, lynx, sylvan cat, Persian squirrel, sylvan dormouse, hedgehog, chamois, European red deer, wild hog, pheasant, quail, partridge, Caspian turkey, culver, bald eagle, bearded vulture, pygmy eagles, golden eagle, hawk and others.

38. The National Park, which is administered by the Ministry of Nature Protection, is divided into three zones; protected area, recreational zone and economic zone. All activities with the park must conform to a set of criteria so as not to impact on the ecosystem’s equilibrium or put at risk the cultural or scientific assets of the protected area. Human activities are generally confined to scientific research and tourism within the Protected Zone. In the other zones, the recreational and economic zones, activities must be in full conformity with park protection.

39. The park, which is widely used for walking, trekking and cycling, has its own information and interpretative centre and a small number of trails. The most developed of the trails is the Jukhtavank to Shamakhyan Nature Trail which extends around some 10 kilometres to the west of Dilijan. This trail is relatively well developed, is signposted, and contains a number of thematic areas for wildlife and flora as well as three picnic spots. The majority of the park area is not as well presented and there is considerable scope for developing additional trails and improving access from Dilijan and other points. Additionally the tourism offer of the attraction could be diversified by the development of additional activities, particularly in the area of eco and adventure tourism by exploiting the river and mountain area.

Appendix 2 21

b. Dilijan Museum of Local History and Art Gallery

40. Dilijan has an exceptionally rich history and cultural heritage which is reflected in the Dilijan Museum of Local History and Art Gallery which was founded in 1950 by a local school teacher. The gallery houses a collection of classic and modern as well as a fine collection of international paintings and . In addition there is a collection Armenian carpets, jewellery and objects. In the historic collection there are numerous artefacts from the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age recovered from excavations of prehistoric cemeteries at Golovino and Paganini near Dilijan. These include a number of relics, including armour, weapons and jewellery. Many of the finest artefacts recovered from excavations were transferred to the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg where they can still be viewed.

Figure 4: Dilijan Museum

41. The Museum and Gallery, which are substantial for what is a small town,are generally in an excellent condition and easily accessible on Myasnikyan Street above the Aghstev River in the centre of the town.. The exhibits well displayed with interpretative materials in Armenian, Russian and English.

42. :Haghartsin Monastery is a 13th century complex which contains three separate churches as well as a refectory and was built by the architect Minas around 1248. The most dominant element of the ensemble is the Church of Saint St. Astvatsatsin. The church provided the focal point of the monastery in the form of a sixteen- faced domewhich is carried on an arched tower. Other major elements of the complex include the church of Saint Gregory, the Church of Saint Stepanos and the refectory building.

43. The Haghartsin Monastery, like that of , is located within the Dilijan National Park, which affords it a high degree of protection. Exceptionally Haghartsin which is a thirty minute drive from Dilijan is one of the most popular and visited monasteries in Armenia. The monastery, which has a resident priest, is currently undergoing restoration funded by Sultan of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. There has been some discussion regarding the inclusion of this site in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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44. As yet Haghartsin has not been included in the ‘tentative’ UNESCO list and will have to compete with a number of other candidate sites in Armenia. The country currently has three sites on the UNESCO list; the Cathedral Church of Echmiadzin at Zvartnots, the Monasteries of and and the Monastery of Tatev.. Haghpat and Sanahin are in northern Lori Marz close to Alaverdi which Tatev is in the southern Syunik Marz. The notion of ‘monastery tours’ has long been identified and is already incorporated into a number of programmes including those of USAid and the World Bank

Figure 5: Haghartsin Monastery

45. In addition, four sites have been assessed and placed on the tentative schedule for full listing. They are; the site of the City of , the Basilica of Yeveruk, the Monastery of and the Monastery of Tatev. It is worth noting that a number of these sites are encountering difficulty in the listing process due to the nature of renovations works they have carried out and that World Heritage Site listing is a rigorous and lengthy assessment process.

46. Goshavank Monastery: The monastery of Goshavank, which dates from the twelfth century, is located in the village of Gosh around 15 kilometres to the east of Dilijan on the Getuk River. The monastery, which is no longer in use, is one of the few such buildings in the country which entry is not free. The complex consists of a number of buildings comprising; the churches of Saint Astavatsatsin, Saint Gregory, and Grigor Lusavorich as well as an imposing bell tower and book depository. The book depository is considered the best among the constructions of the same type in Armenia

47. Of particular note are the , or carved stone crosses, many of which are esteemed to be the best examples in the world. The most famous of the khachkars is the Aseghnagorts, or lacework, which is exhibited in the main doorway of the complex.

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Like the Haghartsin Monastery there has been some discussion regarding the possible inclusion of this monastery on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

48. Jukhtavank Monastery: This monastery complex, which translates as ‘two churches’, is located three kilometres to the west of Dilijan on a tributary of the Aghstev River and close to Dilijan mineral springs. The complex dates from the 12th century and consists of two churches as well as a small churchyard. This is a small and not particularly impressive site which has less of the drama of the better known monasteries in the area. Access to the site is difficult as the motorable path has been washed away.Roadway is mentioned as a possible ADB intervention.

49. Matosavank Monastery - Matosavank is situated in front of JukhtakVank, at a distance of 3.5 km to the West from Dilijan, at the right bank of the Bldan river. The monastery complex consists of 3 low constructions. There is a medieval churchyard to the south-east of the church. The Blessed Virgin church has been built in 1205.

c. Dilijan Mineral Springs

50. Dilijan is known for its curative mineral waters which have attracted visitors to its spas since the late nineteenth century. Today the waters are best known in the form of bottled mineral water produced by the Dilijan Water Company at the town’s mineral springs. The “Dilijan" mineral water factory was established in 1947 and was one of the first and best known companies producing mineral water not only in Armenia, but also in the former USSR. The factory produces over 8 million bottles of medicinal mineral water a year from the spring source.

d. Theatres

51. The theatre in Dilijan dates from the end of the 19th century whenamateur dramatic groups were organised. These clubs were supplemented bt the construction of the Rotonda this open air theatre became a centre for intellectuals throughout the Caucuses from 1900 until 1936 when it ceased to function. In 1932 the State Theatre was founded in Dilijan and the city still maintains a strong position in the dramatic arts. Although cultural activities have fallen away in recent years the city government has identified the renovation of Dilijan Culture Palace as one of its development priorities.

e. Dilijan Music Academy and Dilijan Art Academy

52. The musical school which was founded in 1946 plays an important role in cultural life of the town, although its total enrolment is only around 40 students. The Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts has a substantial branch campus in Dilijan offering a wide range of diploma courses and also organising summer school activities.

f. Dilijan Library

53. The first library in Dilijan was opened in 1908 and was at the end of the 19th something of a centre for cultural activity in Dilijan. The library which was subsequently named after its founder, Aghayan, is still believed to be functioning, but with a limited role in the cultural life of the city.

Appendix 2 24

g. Domestic Architecture

54. Dilijan has a number of fine examples of domestic architecture from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sadly however many fine examples of these timber buildings, as well as the Rotunda, have been lost to landslides. The distinction ‘Dilijan Style’ which developed in the town is believed to be a fusion of Russian and Caucasian architectural elements typified by tiles and gabled roofs, oriole windows and whitewashed timber walling. A number of these fine buildings still remain giving the city much of its unique character.

55. Unfortunately many more recent construction, amongst which is the new Central Bank complex do not respect the architectural heritage of the city nor its National Park setting. Many of these new constructions are perhaps more suited to the faceless environment of some anonymous conurbation. If the character of Dilijan is to be maintained, and enhanced, then urgent steps require to be taken to develop and enforce a set of architectural design guidelines for the city.

Figure 6. Dilijan Architecture

2. Accommodation

56. There is no formal registration process in Armenia to register tourist accommodation and estimated of the total volume of accommodation vary wildly. Most estimates for the total number of available bedspaces are around 10,000, with around 90% of bed spaces being located in Yerevan. Average room occupancy rates through the year are reported to be as low as 20% and demand shows evidence of extreme seasonality, with a very short summer peak season. While visitor numbers for international arrivals are a relatively healthy 843,000 a very high proportion of visitors are from the and lodge with friends and relatives and do not generate high levels of demand for hotel accommodation.

57. Locally estimates of available bed spaces also vary wildly. In the case of Dilijan the local government has reported that there are up to 3,000 bed spaces available in the town of Dilijan alone. This would account for around 30% of national bed stock in a town of 8,000 inhabitants, clearly a highly questionable statistics. This high estimate may, in part, be

Appendix 2 25 accounted for by the practice in established resorts such as Dilijan and of local homeowner renting out rooms informally over the peak tourist summer period. stop shelters and the like in both destinations bear evidence of advertising for such low cost informal accommodation.

58. Visual surveys of the town, backed up by internet research have revealed a more limited supply of formal accommodation, which is set out in the table below. For statistical purposes we have calculated available bed spaces as being 2 per room, a generally accepted planning norm.

Table 3. Capacity of accommodation establishments

Name Category Rooms Bed Spaces Best Western Dilijan Hotel 50 100 Tufenkian Old Dilijan Complex Hotel 12 24 Hotel Dilijan 71 142 Impuls Health Resort Hotel 46 92 Casanova Hotel 11 22 Dil Hill Hotel Hotel 19 38 Haghartsin Hotel Restaurant Hotel 24* 48 Entertainment Complex Dilijan Green Park Hotel 9 18 Dili Villa Guesthouse B&B 7 14 Toon Armeni B&B 10* 20 Yeva Santrossyan B&B 4 8 Sotia B&B 1 2 RoubenyatsTun B&B 5 10 Nunufar Ghazoumyan B&B 3 6 Nina’s B&B 5 10 Magnit Guesthouse B&B 12 27 Heghineh Alikkhanyan B&B 4 8 Hasmit Barseghyan B&B 3 6 Frangulyan B&B 2 4 Benik Babiyan B&B 4 8 Seno Guest House B&B 4 8 Ashot Margaryan B&B 4 8 Arus Davatyan B&B 2 4 Artsive B&B 5 10 Armans B&B 6 12 Anahit Hovespyan B&B 3 6 Ararat Guesthouse B&B 4 8 Getap Inn B&B 15* 30 Red Hotel B&B 7 14 DghyakPansion B&B 21 42 TOTAL 369 738

59. From research some 30 accommodation establishment have been identified with a total of 369 rooms, 738 bed spaces. The website of the Dilijan National Park estimates that the average daily tourist frequentation of the resort area is 500 guests, which is within the room/bed capacity identified. With the proposed establishment of a new NTO there is a clear need to formalise the registration of tourism accommodation in order to develop a clear understanding of the supply side situation. *estimated

Appendix 2 26

3. Tourism Infrastructure

a. Tourist Information

60. Dilijan is fortunate in that it possesses two tourist information centres, which are located in the Old Dilijan Complex with a second opposite the Central Bus Station. It should be noted that even the capital, Yerevan, does not have a formal tourist information centre. The Dilijan Bus Station centre, which was developed with the assistance of USAid in collaboration with the mayor’s office and the Dilijan Tourist Association (DTA) is a purposed built facility is open every day, with the exception of Mondays between 10h and 19h. The centre, which also rents bicycles, has a full range of visitor information and booking services and should serve as a model for similar destinations.

Figure 7. Old Dilijan Tourist Information Centre

b. Tourism Signage

61. Tourism signs are an essential component of the visitors experience and are, more often than not, the visitors initial introduction to a destination or product. Commencing at the airport or land border tourism signage is a fundamental element in providing a welcome to visitors. Throughout the city area, and in common with all other areas in the region visited, directional road signage is a problem. Local road signs are inconsistent in design and appearance, often poorly sited and frequently compete for attention with a miasma of advertising billboards. This confusing situation is often exacerbated at night when poor levels of illumination render many signs all but invisible until the driver is almost upon them.

62. Directional signage on the main highways, although more consistent in design and appearance, fares little better in our evaluation. Signage is often confusing and fails to direct the visitor to attractions in the most direct and logical route.

Appendix 2 27

63. Consideration should be given to the implantation of a comprehensive signage programme for the area, covering both directional and information signage designed and installed to international standards. In considering signage and information systems attention should also be paid to new and fast emerging technologies and their ability to provide detailed and real-time information through satellite navigation systems, smart phone apps and QR coding panels. Such new media is fast establishing a role for itself as an effective and relatively low cost option for information provision, particularly in less frequented areas where traditional physical signage may not be cost effective as a communication medium.

c. Transport Issues

64. Road capacityto the area generally seems to be adequate but should be carefully evaluated following future visitor arrival surveys and the preparation of statistically accurate demand projections

65. Within the area a number of roads are in particularly poor condition, unpaved and poorly maintained the access road to Parz Lake in particular is in need of urgent action to ensure access to the lake as well as a number of existing resort hotels. Pedestrian footpaths and cycles paths are generally of a low quality and underprovided. Footpaths are often in poor condition or absent while there are no segregate cycles lanes. Moreover connectivity to the surrounding countryside is limited.

66. Parking, particularly in central areas and around the National Park, is an issue particularly during the summer peak period. Careful consideration should be given to the provision of adequate managed parking space for private vehicles and tour , as well as resolving wider traffic management conflicts in congested locations.

d. Institutional Framework

67. At a national level Armenia has been greatly hampered by the absence of a National Tourism Organisation (NTO) to promote, regulate and coordinate the development of the sector. This has a particular impact on the planning and marketing of the industry, which is recognised by the Government to be a key potential growth sector. Detailed proposals for the establishment of an NTO are now being considered by the Government of Armenia. When established the NTO should furnish much needed tourism statistics to enable the logical planning and administration of the sector at a national level.

68. At local level there is generally a very poor understanding of the nature of the tourism industry and a deficit of the requisite skills to plan and manage the development of the sector. Dilijan is the exception to this situation as it has received international technical support which led to the establishment of the Dilijan Tourism Associate, chaired by the mayor and the establishment of the Tourism Information Centre. Much work however still needs to be done, statistic database for the sector is very weak and detailed surveys require to be executed in order to determine visitor numbers, mode of transport, origins and motivations as well as completing a definitive accommodation inventory.

e. Telecoms and Internet

69. There is believed to be mobile phone coverage for most of the area although we are informed that this is generally limited to a single network, potentially leaving many visitors without coverage. The provision of mobile phone services and, increasingly, of internet access has become essential to the modern traveller who is coming to increasingly rely on

Appendix 2 28 mobile and wireless-based information services. This is particularly true of relatively remote areas such as Tatev where in activities such as trekking it is the sole way of communicating with the emergency and information services. The availability of 3G and 4G mobile telephone networks covering the area will facilitate visitor internet access and open up the possibility of designing area specific smartphone apps which could provide more time sensitive visitor information as well as mapping and interpretative information throughout the area.

70. A detailed assessment of mobile and internet coverage for the area should be prepared and, in cooperation with service providers, an outline programme development for the upgrading of telecoms infrastructure throughout the study area prepared. In installing new networks to the area efforts should be made to minimize the environmental impact of transmitter masts.

f. Banking Services

71. The availability of modern banking services and in particular credit card or bank debit ATM and charging facilities have become essential to the modern traveler. The lack of credit card payment facilities and an international ATM withdrawal facility is a major impediment to tourism development. The banking sector should therefore be encouraged to expedite the installation of ATM machines in all four identified tourism service centres; this service should be extended to major hotels in order to facilitate hotel bill settlement. Smaller hotels as well as establishments may be able to receive payments indirectly through a central booking portal doing away with the present situation where visitor are required to travel with relatively large sums in cash in order to expedite the payment of accommodation bills.

Appendix 2 29

C. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Tourism Sector

72. This section summarises the key strengths of the tourism offer in Dilijan as well as identifying its principle deficiencies, or weaknesses in a SWOT analysis. This analysis also identifies opportunities that the tourism sector could exploit and the principle threats to the further development of the sector.

1. Key Strengths

a. Natural Assets

i. Iconic Mountain Scenery ii. National Park iii. Birdlife and Wildlife iv. Clean Mountain Air and Water

b. Market Assets

i. Strong Established Resort Destination ii. Strong Historic and Cultural Associations

c. Built Assets

i. Existing Accommodation Stock ii. Distinctive Local Architectural Style

d. Cultural Assets

i. Strong Cultural Base and Associations ii. Good Local Museum and Theatre iii. Strong Local Handicrafts

2. Key Opportunities

i. Development of the Business and MICE segments through the educational sector ii. Development of Ecotourism products iii. Diversification of products in to areas such as adventure tourism and niche markets such as bird watching, speleology, and fishing. iv. Reinforcement of the retail offer

3. Key Weaknesses

a. Support infrastructure

i. Poor quality and design of many hotels ii. Poor signage around most tourist attractions iii. Poor roads and public transport services, in particular to tourism sites iv. Poor pedestrian access and street landscape v. Weak internet access and mobile phone connectivity

b. Planning

i. Shortage of tourism expertise among local government planners

Appendix 2 30

ii. Lack of current city physical master plan iii. Poor protection for historic buildings and cultural heritage sites

c. Product

i. Narrow product diversity, over-reliance on Scenic aspects ii. Limited tourism activities and infrastructure in National Park iii. Poor interpretation of cultural heritage product iv. Shortage of major events v. Poor range of quality craft and products

d. Human resources

i. Poor tourism skills, especially at hotel management level ii. Shortage of tourism management and marketing skills in government agencies iii. Shortage of quality tourism training capacity

e. Marketing

i. Lack of sustained destination marketing in key source markets ii. Lack of National Tourism Organisation (NTO) to coordinate marketing activities iii. Lack of niche marketing capacity (conferences, birding etc.) iv. Overdependence on the key Diaspora segment v. Very weak brand image in key international markets vi. Shortage of up-to-date online information, booking and payment facilities vii. Lack of visitor information provision viii. High prices - uncompetitive international airfares, high regional airfares

f. Community involvement

i. Limited awareness of tourism benefits among communities ii. Prohibitive financing costs for SME start ups

4. Key Threats

73. The following items are identified as being key threats to the tourism sector in Dilijan

a. Natural Assets

i. Degradation of the natural setting of the resort area by unplanned, uncontrolled or inappropriate development my negatively impact upon the appeal of the destination

b. Support Infrastructure

i. Further development and increasing visitor arrivals will place an increasing strain on already under–resourced municipal services and infrastructure including road access, parking provision, waste collection, sewage treatment and water supply

c. Human Resources

i. Further development of the tourism sector will place increasing demands on the limited local labour pool ii. Poor HRD will impact upon the quality of both product and service diminishing the attractiveness of the destination.

Appendix 2 31

d. Marketing i. Competing Destinations may emerge and draw custom away from Dilijan

e. Community Development

i. The emergence of poorly trained and resourced community-based tourism development initiatives may discourage subsequent development as well as bringing to the market substandard products that do not meet visitor expectations.

Appendix 2 32

D. Tourism Market Assessment

1. National Strategy

74. The development of the tourism sector is one of the Armenian governments priority development areas and currently a number of on-going studies by a range of international agencies is assisting is this development process. At the outset it would be fair to state that although the sector has considerable potential it is largely underdeveloped at the moment and requires both institutional reform and increased levels of investment to realise its full potential.

75. The ArmenianTourism Strategy for Armenia 2007– 2030 which was prepared for the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development, Government of Armenia, identified tourism as a pillar of the economy and set the country ambitious targets for tourism development, namely: ii. Armenia will welcome 3 million international tourists. iii. Tourism arrivals growth will have been sustained at an annual CAGR of 9%. iv. Armenia will increase its market share of European arrivals. v. International visitors will contribute an estimated US$3 billion to the Armenian economy. vi. Tourism will contribute 12% of the Gross Domestic Product and represent 23.8% of Merchandise Exports. vii. 22,300 people will be directly employed by the tourism industry – 2.0% of the total workforce. viii. Government tourism promotional spending - US$ 49 million. ix. Armenia will rank within the top 50 countries in the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index.

76. In 2012 Armenia received 843,000 international visitors. Although some progress has been made the tourism sector in Armenia still faces a number of significant challenges and has yet to take off as a major international destination. A report commissioned by EDMC is 2012 examine the development of the tourism sector in the country and examined the evolution of tourist arrivals as well as forecast future growth. The report found that while was strong the trend line as shown in Figure 3.1 was lagging slightly behind the forecast growth rate

77. All the predictions made in 2008 on the growth of tourism inflows to Armenia have been followed thoroughly, as the following graph depicts.

Appendix 2 33

Figure 8: Foreseen evolution of total tourism inflows to Armenia. 2010-2020

1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 2010 2012* 2015 2020 Min Max Reality

Source: EDMC Report, NSS and Armenian tourism sector 2009-2020 development strategy

78. These 2007-08 predictions showed that Armenia would be receiving between 1.4 and 1.6 million international arrivals in 2020. Given that conditions have only improved for Armenia over the last years, it seems wise to assume that even the most optimistic predictions in terms of arrivals for 2020 will be met (around 1.5M international visitors).

79. The great challenge comes when looking at the composition of these foreseen inflows. Thus, out of these numbers, the proportion of leisure travellers was set to record a significant growth, from around 15% in 2010 to almost 40% in 2020 (around 600,000 leisure travellers by that year), while Diaspora would decrease from over 50% to around 30-35%. The forecast segmentation of tourist arrivals up to 2020 is set out below in Table 3.2.

Table 4: Forecast arrivals segmentation 2010 - 2020

2010 2015 2020

Min Max Min Max Min Max

TOTAL 600 700 900 1.100 1.400 1.600

Leisure 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Diaspora 50% 55% 40% 45% 30% 35%

Business 20% 25% 20% 20% 20% 25%

Subtotal 85% 100% 85% 95% 85% 100%

Others 15% 0% 15% 5% 15% 0%

Source: Armenian tourism sector 2009-2020 development strategy

80. While forecasts for tourist arrivals have been prepared these we based on patchy and often inconsistent statistical returns from point of entry visa application forms. The recent Visitors Arrivals sample survey, which is still on-going, provides the only more detailed and statistically reliable overview of the current pattern of .

Appendix 2 34

2. Visitor by Origin and Purpose

80. A clear and in-depth understanding of the present tourism market is essential to develop a strategy for future development. To a comprehensive and accurate statistic database of the existing situation including; visitor motivations, origins, lengths of stay and other key indicators a number of studies have been launched, and are currently on-going. Amongst this work the key work is being undertaken by the National Statistical Service with the support of the Ministry of Economy, GIZ and USAid’s Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness (EDMC) programme.

81. Commencing in January 2013 a survey of all arriving and departing passengers was initiated at all border points including roads, rail stations and airports. Tis exercise will be concluded at the end of 2013, with a full report due in March 2014. Results for the first three months of the survey have however been obtained and these provide the fullest and most accurate understanding available of the tourism sector in Armenia. The sampling rate of this work was 1.5% of all arriving and departing international travellers: 4433 arriving passengers and 4677 departing passengers have participated in the survey. By crude extrapolation therefore a total of approximately 295,000 persons arrived in Armenia during the first quarter of 2013. Of that total 247.9%, or 141,000, were classified as tourists.

82. The largest share of incoming tourists originated in and , accounting for 56.02% and 21.83% respectively. Table 3.3, which is set out below, indicate both tourist origins and purpose of visit. Attention has been drawn by the survey authors that VFR is relatively high by international comparison and reflects the importance of the Armenian Diaspora as a source market. In contrast ‘Leisure and Entertainment as motivation is low.

Appendix 2 35

Table 5: Visitor Origin and Purpose of Visit, %, January to March 2013 Visiting relatives relatives Visiting Participation in in Participation sports, cultural cultural sports, Total average Total entertainment entertainment Employment Leisure and Leisure and friends and friends Pilgrimage Education treatment Business Medical events Other

Russian 2.37 1.32 0.44 1.10 3.14 0.66 47.71 0.11 6.67 63.53 Federation

Georgia 2.81 0.39 1.71 6.28 0.72 0.06 10.47 - 0.77 23.20

Islamic Republic 0.06 - 0.06 - 0.55 0.06 1.82 0.06 - 2.59 of Ukraine 0.17 - 0.06 - 0.22 - 1.43 - 0.17 2.04 The United 0.11 - 0.06 - 0.11 0.06 0.66 - 0.11 1.10 States Greece 0.06 - - - 0.06 - 0.33 - 0.17 0.61 Syrian Arab - - - - 0.06 - 0.33 0.11 0.06 0.55 Republic Belarus - - - - 0.06 - 0.44 - - 0.50

Germany ------0.50 - - 0.50

Belgium 0.11 - - 0.06 - - 0.28 - - 0.44

France ------0.44 - - 0.44

Kazakhstan - - 0.06 - - - 0.28 - 0.11 0.44

Turkey - 0.06 - - - - 0.33 - - 0.39

Netherlands ------0.33 - - 0.33

Spain ------0.33 - - 0.33

Other countries 0.61 - - - 0.11 0.11 1.93 - 0.28 3.03

Total 6.28 1.76 2.37 7.44 5.01 0.94 67.60 0.28 8.32 100

83. The results of the survey conducted through the first three months suggest that 64.6% of incoming travellers have been with an Armenian background andthat the main purpose of visiting Armenia has been visiting relatives and friends, and, thus, in terms of the proportion, the main visitors are residents of Russia and Georgia, 63.53% and 23.2%, respectively. Table 3.4 indicates the origin of travellers of Armenian background as well as their stated purpose of visit.

Appendix 2 36

Table 6: Travellers of Armenian Background, %, by origin and purpose of visit Visiting relatives relatives Visiting Participation in in Participation sports, cultural cultural sports, Total average Total entertainment entertainment Employment Leisure and Leisure and friends and friends Pilgrimage Pilgrimage Education treatment Business Medical events Other

Russian 2.37 1.32 0.44 1.10 3.14 0.66 47.71 0.11 6.67 63.53 Federation

Georgia 2.81 0.39 1.71 6.28 0.72 0.06 10.47 - 0.77 23.20

Islamic Republic 0.06 - 0.06 - 0.55 0.06 1.82 0.06 - 2.59 of Iran Ukraine 0.17 - 0.06 - 0.22 - 1.43 - 0.17 2.04 The United 0.11 - 0.06 - 0.11 0.06 0.66 - 0.11 1.10 States Greece 0.06 - - - 0.06 - 0.33 - 0.17 0.61 Syrian Arab - - - - 0.06 - 0.33 0.11 0.06 0.55 Republic Belarus - - - - 0.06 - 0.44 - - 0.50

Germany ------0.50 - - 0.50

Belgium 0.11 - - 0.06 - - 0.28 - - 0.44

France ------0.44 - - 0.44

Kazakhstan - - 0.06 - - - 0.28 - 0.11 0.44

Turkey - 0.06 - - - - 0.33 - - 0.39

Netherlands ------0.33 - - 0.33

Spain ------0.33 - - 0.33

Other countries 0.61 - - - 0.11 0.11 1.93 - 0.28 3.03

Total 6.28 1.76 2.37 7.44 5.01 0.94 67.60 0.28 8.32 100

84. Further analysis of survey returns examined the sex and age breakdown by purpose of visit, as set out below in Table 7Table 7.

Appendix 2 37

Table 7. Sex and age breakdown for incoming travellers by the purposes of visit Medical treat Medical Visiting relatives relatives Visiting Partic sports, cultural cultural sports, Total average Total entertainment Employment Leisure and Leisure and friends Pilgrim c Edu Business events Other ipa ation

in tion age

m

en

Male 79.2 94.6 46.4 22.6 67.9 75.0 60.0 66.7 54.9 62.0

Female 20.8 5.4 53.6 77.4 32.1 25.0 40.0 33.3 45.1 38.0

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Under 17 0.0 0.0 1.8 1.4 0.8 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.6 years old

18-35 34.4 23.1 86.0 17.6 56.5 57.1 32.9 42.9 33.3 35.6 years old

36-63 62.6 72.4 12.3 79.1 40.7 42.9 63.5 57.1 64.2 61.1 years old 64 years old and 3.1 4.5 0.0 2.0 2.0 0.0 2.9 0.0 2.5 2.7 above

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

85. The average duration of the trip for incoming travellers is 24.1 days, the longest one being recorded for the pilgrimage purpose – 78.4 days and education purpose – 36.1 day. It should be noted that incoming travellers visiting Armenia for the purpose of leisure and entertainment, spend 13.8 days in Armenia.

Appendix 2 38

Table 8. Duration of trips by incoming travellers by the type of lodging and the purpose of visit Visiting relatives relatives Visiting sports, cultural cultural sports, Participation in entertainment Total average Total Employment Leisure and and friends Pilgrimage Education treatment Business Medical events Other

Hotel 7.5 7.0 3.6 1.5 5.8 8.0 9.8 - 7.2 7.2

Rented apartment 20.9 100.3 91.5 180.0 22.8 33.0 47.2 205.0 - 48.4 B&B, 2.0 4.0 103.5 - 5.6 - 4.0 - 13.0 18.6

At relative’s or friend’s place 23.2 42.1 45.4 8.7 25.5 31.0 30.3 27.8 23.4 28.1 Resort houses 1.0 - - 7.0 10.0 - 25.6 - - 17.0

Other lodgings 18.7 2.7 8.2 5.6 21.2 10.0 31.6 - 3.5 13.5

Average number of overnight 13.2 19.0 36.1 9.5 13.8 21.7 29.6 78.4 21.8 24.1 days per tourist

86. Additional survey results show that in the Armenian tourism sector, the number of travellers on tour packages is on a low level at around 0.9% and that tour packages tour package tourists would visit Armenia mainly at the end of spring and in summer.

3. Visitors by Destination and Purpose

87. Of most interest to the present study survey results, as set out below in Table 6.5 which Marz foreign tourists visited during their stay in Armenia, and in Table 6.6 what their main purpose of visit was to that Marz. The data for Tavush Mars, in which Dilijan is located,is highlighted in red. Importantly it is revealed that only 3.36% of foreign tourists visited Tavush Marz within the survey period while almost half visited Yerevan.

Appendix 2 39

Table 9. Breakdown of incoming travellers’ by Marz and country of origin

Armavir Marz Armavir Gegharqunik Kotayk Marz Kotayk Vayots Dzor Dzor Vayots Shirak Marz Shirak Ararat Marz Marz Ararat Syunik Marz Syunik Aragatsotn Aragatsotn Lori Marz Lori Yerevan Tavush Total

Marz Marz Marz Marz

Russian 23.78 1.50 4.73 3.70 4.92 4.84 7.74 2.38 1.11 2.07 1.29 58.89 Federation

Georgia 11.28 0.13 0.26 0.03 0.49 1.03 2.04 0.21 0.10 0.10 0.03 15.71 Islamic Republic 3.70 0.08 0.98 0.10 0.62 0.08 0.03 0.08 0.08 0.31 0.85 6.96 of Iran

Ukraine 1.35 0.05 0.16 0.16 0.26 0.03 0.10 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.10 2.61 The United 0.65 0.05 0.18 0.13 0.28 0.13 0.03 0.13 0.08 0.08 0.05 1.84 States

Germany 0.93 - 0.18 0.13 0.39 - 0.05 - 0.03 0.03 - 1.81

Belarus 0.47 0.03 0.13 0.13 0.16 0.13 0.05 0.05 0.08 0.10 0.03 1.37 Syrian Arab 0.26 0.05 0.13 0.05 0.08 0.05 0.08 0.05 - 0.03 - 0.78 Republic

Kazakhstan 0.44 0.03 0.05 - 0.03 - 0.05 0.05 - 0.03 0.03 0.72

Poland 0.34 0.05 0.05 0.03 0.10 0.03 0.03 0.03 - 0.03 0.03 0.70

United Kingdom 0.31 0.03 0.08 0.05 0.08 0.03 0.03 0.05 0.03 0.03 - 0.70

Netherlands 0.21 0.05 0.05 0.03 0.08 0.05 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.05 0.03 0.62

France 0.36 - - 0.05 - 0.03 0.05 0.03 - 0.03 - 0.54

Turkey 0.41 - - - 0.05 - - - 0.03 - - 0.52 United Arab 0.28 - 0.03 0.03 0.08 - - 0.03 - 0.03 0.03 0.49 Emirates

Belgium 0.28 - 0.05 - 0.08 - 0.03 - - 0.03 - 0.47

Greece 0.26 - - - 0.03 0.10 - - - 0.03 - 0.41

Austria 0.23 - 0.03 - - 0.05 0.05 - - - 0.03 0.39

Spain 0.23 - - - 0.03 0.05 - 0.05 - 0.03 - 0.39

Finland 0.13 - 0.05 - 0.10 - 0.03 - - 0.03 - 0.36

Bhutan 0.10 - 0.08 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 - - - - 0.28

Japan 0.10 - 0.08 - 0.03 - - - 0.03 0.03 - 0.28

Australia 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 - 0.26

Lebanon 0.16 - 0.03 0.03 - - - 0.03 - - - 0.26

Lithuania 0.10 - 0.05 0.03 0.03 - 0.03 - - - 0.03 0.26

Other countries 1.29 - 0.16 0.08 0.21 0.10 0.10 0.03 - 0.18 0.03 2.38

Total 47.68 2.07 7.55 4.79 8.15 6.78 10.58 3.36 1.73 3.36 2.54 100.0

Appendix 2 40

Table 10. Breakdown of incoming tourists by Marz and purpose of visit Tavush Marz Tavush Armavir Marz Armavir Gegharqunik Gegharqunik Kotayk Marz Kotayk Syunik Marz Syunik Shirak Marz Shirak Ararat Marz Ararat Aragatsotn Dzor MarzDzor Lori Marz Lori Yerevan Vayots Total

Marz Marz

Business 6.30 0.08 0.39 0.29 0.62 0.21 0.62 0.18 - 0.10 0.13 9.02

Employment 2.67 0.05 0.05 0.13 0.13 0.16 0.23 0.10 0.05 0.03 0.49 4.10

Education 1.40 0.03 0.03 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.03 0.03 - - 1.84

Medical 3.32 0.03 0.08 0.03 0.08 0.10 0.96 0.03 0.05 0.03 - 4.69 treatment Recreation and 5.96 0.26 1.76 0.65 2.18 0.31 0.62 0.54 0.26 0.57 0.41 13.84 entertainment Participation in sports and 0.65 - 0.13 0.03 0.08 0.03 0.03 - - 0.03 0.08 1.11 cultural events Visiting relatives 25.05 1.37 4.77 3.32 4.61 5.03 6.64 2.31 1.19 2.44 1.24 58.72 and friends

Pilgrimage 0.18 0.03 0.08 0.05 0.08 - - 0.03 0.03 0.05 0.05 0.57

Other 2.18 0.23 0.26 0.23 0.29 0.86 1.43 0.16 0.13 0.10 0.13 6.09

Total average 47.71 2.07 7.54 4.80 8.14 6.77 10.60 3.37 1.74 3.34 2.54 100.0

88. Drilling down into the survey returns analysis we can estimate the total number of international arrivals in Shirak, Tavush, Lori and Vayots Dzor Marz based upon total international arrivals in Armenia being in the order of 843,000. As set out in Table 6.7 this indicates total estimated arrivals for each Marz. Arrival estimates have been further refined in Table 6.8 where purpose of visit is examined and estimated arrival by segment identified. Revealingly the prime motivation for foreign tourist visiting Tavush was ‘visiting friends and relatives’ (VFR). This segment accounted for almost 70% of foreign arrivals.

Table 11. Estimated international arrivals by Marz

Marz Target City % of Total Arrivals Incoming Visitors

Shirak 10.58 89,000

Tavush Dilijan 3.36 28,000

Lori 6.78 57,000

Vayots Dzor Jermuk 1.74 14,500

(National) (100) (843,000)

Appendix 2 41

Table 12. Estimated international arrivals by Marz and purpose of visit

Purpose of Vayots Lori Marz Shirak Marz Tavush Marz Visit Dzor Marz

Estimated Estimated Estimated Estimated % Visitors % Visitors % Visitors % Visitors

Business 3 1,700 5.8 0.18 -

Employment 2.4 1,300 2.2 0.10 3 500

Education 1 500 0.1 0.03 1.8 300

Medical 2.3 1,300 9 0.03 3.0 500 treatment Recreation and 4.5 2,600 5.8 0.54 15 2,200 entertainment Participation in sports and 0.1 400 0.1 - - cultural events Visiting relatives 74 42,100 64.5 2.31 69.4 9,600 and friends

Pilgrimage - 0 - 0.03 1.8 300

Other 12.7 7,100 14 0.16 7.7 1100

Total 100 57,000 100 89,000 100 28,000 1.74 14,500

Table 3.10: Estimated international arrivals by Marz and purpose of visit

4. Visitor Expenditure

89. According to the preliminary assessment of the results for the first three months of the Visitors’ Arrival Survey incoming travellers spend on average 1672.5 USD during the whole trip (including the amounts paid to non-resident organizations of Armenia – international transport, services, etc.). It was be noted that the largest proportion of expenses was for international transport. Attention is drawn at this point to the 2013 World Bank Country Report for Armenia which highlights the relatively high cost of air travel to Armenia.A breakdown of expenses by visitor origin and expenditure segment is set out below in Table 13. Expenditure is further analysed in Table 14 which illustrates expenditure, in US$, by purpose of visit and expenditure segment.

Appendix 2 42

Table 13. Expenditure by visitor origin and expenditure segment (US$) Local transportation

Accommodation household items (restaurant, bar) (restaurant, Total average Total

International Sightseeing ,

Transport expenses Other Meal

Total 728.5 104.8 197.1 17.9 39.5 131.0 453.6 1672.5 Russian 1109.8 113.4 271.2 18.1 52.8 172.0 740.1 2477.5 Federation Switzerland 2217.7 18.6 14.9 0.0 0.8 1.3 3.7 2257.0 Islamic Republic 273.0 118.8 142.3 26.7 52.2 102.6 52.3 767.9 of Iran Georgia 30.8 12.7 21.1 1.8 7.5 24.4 78.4 176.9 Ukraine 537.8 164.9 314.2 91.2 105.3 252.3 366.0 1831.7 The United 1271.3 638.2 414.9 83.7 112.2 319.6 1354.8 4194.6 States Syrian Arab 544.4 550.0 986.1 77.8 106.7 347.2 976.7 3588.9 Republic Germany 663.6 329.8 281.0 19.3 51.6 114.6 299.0 1759.1 Kazakhstan 1117.9 422.0 363.1 0.0 10.0 230.7 453.8 2597.5 Netherlands 548.6 101.5 99.1 0.7 12.6 31.1 78.8 872.4 Belarus 418.2 101.6 253.9 40.7 22.8 334.9 270.1 1442.3 France 596.2 193.1 1020.5 214.3 30.9 303.9 231.4 2590.2 United Arab 954.5 182.4 1007.6 83.7 16.3 153.4 453.8 2851.8 Emirates Spain 541.4 326.7 70.4 0.0 11.9 1363.2 950.1 3263.6 Poland 492.4 85.8 169.5 4.2 24.9 90.8 1169.1 2036.7 United Kingdom 793.1 216.0 219.3 13.6 106.8 108.3 578.4 2035.6 Turkey 174.2 351.4 91.4 16.7 62.9 162.8 372.9 1232.3 Greece 284.7 2.8 166.8 46.2 139.6 105.8 743.0 1489.0 Belgium 545.7 275.9 130.7 19.2 28.6 63.9 318.6 1382.8 1695.8 415.8 1022.5 0.0 89.1 952.4 445.6 4621.2 Dania 1267.2 929.1 49.2 61.9 29.2 313.4 0.0 2650.0 316.3 255.2 262.5 87.5 145.6 437.5 31.3 1535.8 Austria 418.2 453.1 106.2 0.0 15.0 16.8 20.5 1029.8 1665.0 210.0 44.4 27.2 20.0 129.1 94.8 2190.5 Jordan 900.0 2400.0 5000.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 700.0 9000.0 Czech Republic 792.7 97.1 741.4 0.0 12.5 106.5 245.7 1995.9 Romania 475.7 623.8 126.5 0.0 45.4 31.2 1333.3 2635.8 Hungary 683.9 66.8 3066.8 0.0 20.0 40.1 0.0 3877.7 Lithuania 317.1 112.2 203.8 33.3 39.3 126.7 5.5 837.9 Bhutan 155.6 78.8 175.7 94.6 3.5 206.9 241.6 956.7 900.0 166.7 466.7 0.0 0.0 158.0 0.0 1691.4 1999.0 333.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 2665.4 0.0 4997.5 Sweden 644.1 253.0 300.0 0.0 45.4 66.7 333.3 1642.5 Finland 919.6 75.1 17.5 18.4 27.7 138.1 34.2 1230.7 Australia 3000.0 0.0 200.0 200.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 3500.0 Kuwait 350.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 2.2 125.0 62.5 639.7 1150.0 500.0 200.0 41.8 24.6 600.0 0.0 2516.3 Abkhazia 182.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.2 70.4 33.1 287.7

Appendix 2 43

Israel 470.0 1000.0 150.0 100.0 100.0 200.0 0.0 2020.0 Turkmenistan 1040.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.6 500.0 300.0 1843.6 Other countries 301.5 27.8 45.0 4.5 10.4 54.9 126.1 570.3

Table 14. Average expenditure (US$) by purpose of visit Average Average household items household For international international For accommodation Other expenses Other (restaurant, Souvenirs, Souvenirs,

transport For local For for tours for transport bar, etc. bar, Meal For For total cost total

Business 902.5 218.8 139.9 8.9 26.2 72.1 602.2 1970.6

Employment 174.3 32.9 62.3 2.8 11.3 43.9 90.7 418.2

Education 173.8 203.2 155.2 7.5 30.9 63.0 166.2 799.8

Medical treatment 60.2 7.3 33.0 1.1 10.1 33.5 297.9 442.9

Recreation and 359.9 176.8 167.9 48.0 48.0 139.0 144.8 1084.4 Entertainment Participation in sports, cultural 533.1 50.0 563.4 5.1 64.8 76.0 633.2 1925.6 events Visiting relatives and 963.8 83.0 252.1 19.0 47.1 165.5 528.5 2059.0 friends

Pilgrimage 663.4 400.0 389.4 134.4 171.1 248.5 820.0 2826.8

Other 409.4 98.0 98.2 3.9 29.0 116.1 539.3 1294.0

Total 728.5 104.8 197.1 17.9 39.5 131.0 453.6 1672.5

90. For the purposes of the present study, and in the absence of an accurate statistical base and timeline series it has been necessary to adopt a range of working assumptions in respect of growth forecasts for the target secondary cities

5. Domestic Visitors

91. While some limited and as yet incomplete surveys and statistics analyses have been carried out for international arrivals there is very little information available on domestic tourism. It has been reported that total domestic tourism trips in 2011 were in the order of 860,000 it has not been possible to authenticate this figure, however as an estimate it would appear to be broadly proportionate with the level of international arrivals and the population.

92. The World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC) in their Armenia country report which agglomerates both domestic and international arrivals estimate that tourism growth up to 2023 will average between 2.1% and 5.5%. If accepted as a base for calculating domestic tourism growth then these rates, which follow broader economic trends would see domestic tourism increase between 23% and 73% over a ten year period, placing additional demands on Dilijan’s inventory and infrastructure.

Appendix 2 44

6. Visitor Arrival Estimates

93. The current programme examines growth forecasts and requirements over a ten year period, 2013 to 2022. In considering timeframe horizons it is proposed that the period 2013 to 2015 be considered short term, 2016 to 2018 medium term and 2019 to 2022 long term.

94. For consistency the Armenian tourism sector 2009-2020 development strategy prepared a set of estimates for the growth of which may be loosely adapted to the present programme timeframe.

Table 15: Forecast arrivals segmentation 2010 - 2020

2010 2015 2020 Min Max Min Max Min Max TOTAL 600 700 900 1.100 1.400 1.600 Leisure 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% Diaspora 50% 55% 40% 45% 30% 35% Business 20% 25% 20% 20% 20% 25% Subtotal 85% 100% 85% 95% 85% 100% Others 15% 0% 15% 5% 15% 0% Source: Armenian tourism sector 2009-2020 development strategy

95. Table 15 indicates that medium term growth may be in the range of 50% to 80% while in the longer term growth may be 130% to a possible high of 170%. This would broadly indicate that by 2023 international tourist arrivals will me than double. At present the VFR segment of the international market dominates but given that this is of a finite size it must be assumed that much of this growth will be derived from new markets with higher demands of hotels and services. This will therefore potentially have a more significant impact on both Dilijan’s accommodation supply and on its economic impact.

96. Taking into account the exceptionally weak statistical database for tourism in Armenia, particularly for domestic tourism it is difficult, if not impossible, to accurately forecast arrivals growth over the coming ten year planning period. The estimates indicated should therefore be treated with caution and subject to revision when more accurate data becomes available. Looking beyond a ten year horizon is always difficult in such a volatile industry as tourism, and in this case should not be considered.

Appendix 2 45

E. . Economic Development

1. The role of tourism in economic development

97. The global tourism industry is now one of the world’s leading economic sectors and is worth an estimated $1.4 trillion in 2013, with revenue rising at an annualized 2.5% over the past five years. Worldwide, the sector is estimated to directly employ 99 million people, or about 3.4 per cent of the world's total employment. By 2021 the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC) forecasts that the direct employment numbers will reach around 120 million. Taking into account indirect and induced employment this figure rises to a forecast 324 million by 2021. The sectors importance is not confined solely to developing economies. In the alone, earnings by the tourism industry reached $1.2 billion in 2011 and are forecast to reach $1.8 billion by 2021. In the United States, investors will pumped $652 billion into the sector in 2011, this represented some 4.5 percent of total U.S. investment, by 2021, investment is forecast to reach $1.5 billion.

98. The tourism sector contributes to three high-priority development goals: the generation of income, employment, and foreign-exchange earnings. As such, the tourism sector can play an important role as a driving force of economic development, and has done so in many countries. The impact the tourism industry can have on the economic development of a country will, of course, be dependent on the specific characteristics of each destination. It must also be appreciated that tourism is a very complex activity and that its impacts are felt across a wide range of activities and production sectors, each in themselves contributing to economic development. A major with the sector is in fact the difficulty in defining the boundaries of the tourism sector is to ascertain what investment costs and benefits can be attributed to the development of tourism. In many analyses of national economies the sector was not assessed in a holistic manner but rather in somewhat ad hoc manner, not identifying economic linkages and thus real impacts.

99. Because of its interdependence with other sectors of the national and local economies, it is difficult to analyse and plan for tourism within a comprehensive economic development strategy. This is the case in Armenia where a lack of reliable statistical data an d the absence of a sustainable national strategy for the sector hampers the identification of the mechanisms by which tourism generates growth, as well as its potential for development. This situation is presently being redressed by a number of planning studies and initiatives which are examining legal, institutional, planning, implementation and marketing measures to facilitate the development of the Armenian tourism sector. The proposed introduction of the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) will also some way to assessing the total economic impacts if tourism and identifying the true, and substantial, impacts of the sector.

2. Economic Impacts

100. At national level the economic have been broadly assessed by the World Travel and Tourism (WTTC) report on the economic impacts of tourism in Armenia, 2013. Tourism’s direct and indirect contribution to GDP is estimated to be 8.2% of the total. This represents a sum of $0.81 bn which is forecast to rise by 2.5% annually to $1.07 bn in 2023. The sector also generates 22,000 direct jobs, rinsing to 87,000 jobs if indirect and induced employment is taken into account. This figure represents 7.3% of all employment.

101. At a local level the economic impacts of tourism are likely to be very high, although no analyses for this have been carried out and insufficient date is available to accurately

Appendix 2 46 assess tourism economic impacts in Dilijan. With more reliable data however it would be possible to make some estimates based upon: i. Visitor origin and purpose of visit ii. Visitor average length of stay and expenditure surveys iii. Estimates of economic leakage from the town, that is how much expenditure ( and job creation ) flows out of the town, for example to Yerevan.

3. The role of tourism in investment positioning

102. As well the tangible economic benefits of the tourism sector it is also widely appreciated that tourism, including leisure, cultural and heritage can have a fundamental impact in speaking to a wider investment community. Investment sourcing is a highly competitive activity, all the more so since the recent economic crisis and the consequent reduction in investment activity. Globally an enormous number of cities vie to attract potential investors and seek to employ a range of perceived advantages, tools and incentives in order to successfully compete for new investment. In the case of cities, such as Gyumri and Vanadzor which are looking to investors to initiate economic restructuring to replace sunset industries the rebranding, or re-imaging, of such cities has been a major element of a wider strategy which typically includes investment incentives, institution restructuring and support, workforce training or re-training and infrastructure improvements. In many cases the development of the tourism, leisure, cultural and heritage sectors have proved to be key tools in differentiating an offer and rebranding decaying urban centres as attractive places to live and invest. Two examples of old industrial centres have used leisure and tourism to rebrand themselves and successfully attract now investment are Glasgow in and Bilbao in northern Spain.

Appendix 2 47

F. Dilijan Draft Tourism Business Strategy

103. In examining the current position of the tourism sector in Dilijan and Outline Business Strategy has been developed to the ongoing development of the sector. It must be stressed that the outline is a preliminary overview and that there is a particular emphasis, within the context of the programme, on identifying transport–related elements and actions. A fuller and more robust business development strategy for the tourism sector in the city will require further, and more detailed study. In particular it will require a fuller understanding of visitor arrivals and motivations than is currently available.

104. A range of recommended actions are identified whose aim is to support the development of the tourism sector in Dilijan. The identified interventions cover a range of objectives and are based upon interviews with local stakeholders, international best practice and the SWOT set out in Chapter C of this report.

1. Objectives

105. Diversify the Product Offer: in order to attract new visitor segments.The development of facilities for new niche markets is strongly recommended. Subject to further detailed study areas such as bike touring, birding watching and speleology offer strong potential and should be exploited. International Case Study: Cycle Tourism in the UK and Europe Cycle tourism is now growing rapidly in the UK, in parallel with renewed interest in health and fitness, and the environment. Cycle tourism in the UK is currently valued at $900 million per year while the forecast for cycle tourism right across Europe is $20 billion per year within 20 years. In Cycle Networks have opened in Denmark, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere, and flagship routes already have impressively high levels of use.

Cycling Holidays, where cycling is the main activity, pursuit now accounts for 2 to 4% of total trips in some European countries, and this is predicted to double within the next decade. This is the dedicated cycling market, on short breaks or longer cycling holidays. An even larger market is Holiday Cycling, cycling as an extra pursuit whilst on holiday. This is estimated to be twice the size of the dedicated cycling market. Ireland estimates that already 7% of visitors cycle whilst on holiday. The German figure quoted above is nearly 25%. In 1997 Denmark, where cycling accounts for 18% of all journeys, opened 2,000km of national cycle route which attracts tourists from Germany and elsewhere. Where public authorities and private sector suppliers establish an attractive cycle tourism offering, this can generate substantial demand within a very short space of time.

106. Develop National Park Activities and Attractions. The Dilijan National Park covers a huge area yet it is largely underexploited for tourism, with only a limited number of trails

Appendix 2 48 and activities. The provision of new trails to areas such as should be investigated. In addition new niche activities should be introduced to the park these should include adventure sports such as paragliding and river sports as well as nature based activities including bird watching and caving.

1. Bird Watching Infrastructure

Bird watching tourists, ornithologists, are one of the most important target segments for Uganda the country already attracts significant numbers and as a result of the huge potential that the nation’s 1,100 bird species offer this number is likely to significantly increase. Facilities for bird watchers are however very poor with most observations taking place from tour vehicles. If this activity is to develop as a quality product it is essential that appropriate infrastructure is put in place, this includes the availability of specialist equipment, such as telescopes and sound recorders, as well as the construction of bird hides.

A bird hide, also known as a blind in North America, is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters. Hides are commonly found in parks and wetlands for the use of bird watchers who do not want to disturb wildlife as it is being observed.

A typical bird hide resembles a garden shed, with small openings, shutters, or windows built into at least one side to enable observation. There are a number of variant types of hide including: the tower hide allowing observations over large areas, the simple screen hide with or without a roof for shelter, and the elevated platform erected to observe birds in high trees or on cliffs.

Figure 9. Example of a screen bird blind Figure 10. Hide using natural materials

107. Broaden the Tourist Season into the Shoulder Months. At present the tourism season in Dilijan and in common with the rest of Armenia is very short making it more difficult to sustain viable business operations through the year. Efforts should be made to develop attraction, and events which are aimed at lengthening the tourism season into the shoulder months at the beginning and end of the summer peak period in order to improve overall annual average frequentation rates. Consideration should be given to identifying events and festivals which can be developed in the shoulder months and consideration should be given to the development of events, attraction and activities, such as winter sports, to exploit the winter period. In addition the development of low cost off season packages for the destination should be investigated.

108. Improve and Enhance Urban Area AttractionsAlthough Dilijan was once famed throughout the Caucuses for the breadth and quality of its attractions, particularly in the cultural sector, these are now much diminished and dated. Steps should be taken to improved facilities such as the theatre and amphitheatre while the development of new modern entertainment facilities such cinema complexes, nightclubs and casinos should be

Appendix 2 49 encouraged. In addition retail facilities in the town should be improved and enhanced. The limited provision of small retail malls and specialist tourist shopping related to cultural displays should also be considered. Handicraft Village – Best Practice As a redevelopment model reference is made to the National Handicraft Museum in New Delhi where traditional craftsmen work in a landscaped setting, framed by examples of indigenous architecture, manufacturing and selling an extensive range of traditional handicrafts

109. Environmental protection or improvement. The areas pristine mountain environment is the destination’s primary asset and should be preserved and enhanced through the preparation and enforcement of a detailed physical planning framework and guidelines. Poor rubbish collection and disposal blights many areas while the river, the focal point of the town, in is urgent need of rehabilitation.

110. Develop Business and MICE Tourism. Take advantages in the development of the educational sector in Dilijan, particularly the development of business education to develop MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and ) segment in the town through the promotion of business and educational-related events. This should be aim primary during the off season to support Objective (b).

111. Develop Educational Tourism. With the development of the new Dilijan International School and the proposed National Bank collaboration with the American University to offer undergraduate and post graduate business studies courses in Dilijan the town is now emerging as an educational hub. The provision of these new high quality facilities creates the opportunity to develop a range of educational opportunities, particularly during breaks in the academic year when short residential courses may be offered to the business community as well as the domestic market and diaspora. This activity is also seen as supporting Objective (b)

112. Develop and Improve the Accommodation Inventory.Dilijan has an extensive inventory of accommodation much of which is of highly variable quality. Broad growth projections, set out in Section 3, indicate that the sector will undergo substantial growth over the coming ten years. This will lead to growth in the accommodation sector which must be planned in a new physical master plan for Dilijan, an urgent requirement. Consideration

Appendix 2 50 should also be given to other accommodation solution, in particular high quality campsites, a relatively low cost investment potentially more viable though a very peaky demand cycle.

France – Land of the ‘Super Sites’

Camping in France has been elevated almost to the level of an art form and the nation’s campsites have some of the highest quality standards and levels of provision to be found anywhere. These sites, which are strictly regulated, set standards that other nations seek to emulate. is an important segment of the French accommodation offer and accounts for over 9.25% of all overnight stays.

Figure 11. France: Campsite leisure facilities, pools, bar and

113. Creation of new employment opportunities through community-based tourism. Unemployment and continuing depopulation is one of the major issues confronting Dilijan, as such the creation of new employment opportunities through tourism development in order to retain and grow the population must be seen as a priority for the sector. In this respect community based opportunity in the accommodation and craft areas should be investigated

114. Improve Image through Streetscape and Urban Design Elements. The image of Dilijan is much diminished from its fin de siècle heyday; steps need to be urgently taken to improve the image of the city through a series of urban design interventions. In this respect two proposals have been developed. Firstly urban markers or city gates should be placed at the three major entrances to Dilijan. Secondly the streetscape of the city should be upgraded by improvements to footpaths, street furniture and lighting as well as landscaping. .

115. Improve Tourism-related Transport Infrastructure.Public transport facilities throughout the area are poor and should be upgrade to improve visitor access and mobility. The Central Station, on Maxim Gorky Street, should be upgraded to provide a modern transport interchange for both local and long distance services. In the longer term the possibility of integrating this facility with passenger rail services should be considered.

116. Improve Tourism-related Information and Services. In common with most other cities in Armenia Dilijan is very poorly served by directional and information signage. In order to enable visitors to fully benefit from all of the resort’s attractions it is necessary to implement a fully integrated signage programme throughout the area. This programme, which should also incorporate street signage, should extend to the area’s key natural and heritage attractions.

117. Improve Human Resources Development. The provision of trained tourism staff and managers to support and improve the development of tourism in the city is essential. Service standards in the sector are at present highly variable, and offer below acceptable international norms. While larger hotel chain generally has internal training programmes the

Appendix 2 51 smaller operator which typifies Dilijan does not have either the expertise or resources for such programmes. Similarly the development of community based tourism activities will require specific skills training for that segment. In order to redress this situation it is recommended that the provision of a local tourism vocational training centre be investigated.

118. Coordinate Marketing Activities with the Proposed NTO. At present there is no National Tourism Organisation (NTO) and as a result no integrated marketing and development approach to tourism in Armenian. Proposals are currently being considered by the Government of Armenia to establish an NTO which will be charged with overseas marketing activities as well as coordinating HRD development for the sector, product development support and accommodation registration. In anticipation of this change, and an increase in marketing activity for the country as a whole the tourism sector in Dilijan should organise itself in both the public and private sector to form a credible and authoritative local partner to the proposed NTO and to promote its own development interests.

119. Improve Resort Area Connectivity. Ensure that there is sufficient transport capacity to support the planned development of the resort area and improve, if necessary connectivity with adjoining destination clusters to ensure the development of tourist itineraries or circuits within the country. As well as road access this should also take into account the provision of long distance and cycle trails. Particular attention should also be given to the possibility of reinstating passenger rail services between Dilijan and Yerevan, the primary tourist source market.

120. Improve Local Access. The provision of improved access to existing facilities and making for the access capacity and provision for the development of proposed new attractions and support infrastructure should be considered. As well as road access provision should be make for the provision of improved footpaths in the urban and rural areas as well as for segregated cycle lanes and paths in the urban area and new cycles trails in the National Park areas.

Appendix 2 52

G. Potential Tourism Projects

1. General

121. Taking into account the nature and location of attraction it will, with the preparation of a detailed tourism master plan for Armenia into a range of tourism circuits for both the general and thematic tourist. Within this context circuits should be developed for Dilijan, these circuits should take into account issues of seasonality and identify itineraries for both the summer and winter seasons and the need to avoid dependency on a single season.

2. Sustainable tourism development

122. In considering the development of tourism it is important to appreciate that in order to positively contribute to the local economies and communities that any such development must be sustainable in nature. Longer term solutions should be preferred over short term ‘fixes’ which may have a limited life-cycle or longer term negative impacts. While the term ‘sustainable tourism’ has become something of a catch phrase, it is important however to understand the fundamental importance of adopting a studied and sustainable development approach and avoiding falsely raising expectation through short term fixes.

123. While the potential product offer in the study area is strong the statistical data base that would enable a rigorous demand analysis is very weak, or even absent. Given the scale of the proposed investments further detailed market analysis is recommended. It may also be advisable to develop a short term action plan for each of the areas, identifying actions over an initial three to five year period and closely monitoring their performance in order to inform subsequent investment phases.

3. Ecotourism

124. While the term ecotourism is much used and suggests exclusively nature–based activities the technical definition of this segment is broader. The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defies ecotourism as: "Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people."

125. Essentially ecotourism is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. This means that those who implement and participate in ecotourism activities should follow the following ecotourism principles: (i) Minimize impact, (ii) Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect, (iii) Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts, (iv) Provide direct financial benefits for conservation and (v) Provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people.

126. Like the term ‘sustainable tourism’ ecotourism is often to allude to sustainable as well as community-based tourism activities and the ‘Eco tourist’ held up to be a discrete and significant segment of the overall tourist market. Tourists who could be regarded as exclusively participating in ‘ecotourism’ or ecotourism activities are a very small market segment and generally confined to groups with specific specialist interests, for example botany or ornithology. What however is clear is that there is a general growing public interest in environmental sustainability, community development and the natural environment and a trend towards incorporating related activities into tourist itineraries. So while there are relatively small numbers of what could be termed ‘hardcore ecotourists’ there are increasing numbers of general leisure tourists who seek to incorporate elements of ecotourism into a holiday schedule which may also comprise sports, cultural, health and other products, this is likely to be increasing the trend amongst visitors to Dilijan.

Appendix 2 53

4. Potential Tourism-related Development Projects

127. A number of outline development projects, derived from the objectives of the Outline Business Strategy have been identified for evaluation and possible selection as elements of a future implementation programme. These are Illustrated below in Figure 6.1.

Figure 12. Overview of Possible Interventions

5. Potential projects

a. Area Access

128. Passenger Rail Service: examine, in detail, the viability of reinstating passenger rail services from Yerevan to Dilijan on either a full time or seasonal basis.

129. Scheduled Inter-regional tour bus services: develop and implement inter-regional tour bus services

130. Redevelop Central Bus Station as a modern transport Interchange with rest areas, café, travel information centre, taxi stand and associated parking.

b. Local Access

131. Provide riverside cycle ways and pedestrian access, traversing the city, to the National Park and adjoining areas

Appendix 2 54

132. Develop and implement scheduled local tour bus circuits and itineraries to provide access the National Park area, historic and cultural sites as well as city hotel clusters and amenities.

133. Review parking provision, identify and provide new manage parking provision to meet present and future demand

134. Assess local road capacities to existing and proposed development areas and ensure that sufficient capacity exists to meet future demand, upgrade roads as necessary.

c. Extend Tourism Season

135. Develop MICE market through the construction of a small conference and centre for Dilijan.

136. Develop winter-based outdoor activities in the National Park area including trekking and cross country skiing.

d. Future Tourism Development

137. As a matter of urgency formulate a detailed tourism arrivals survey to determine accurate arrivals data, including visitor origin, mode of transport, purpose of visit, length of stay, accommodation and spend.

138. Prepare a full inventory of tourism accommodation in Dilijan, including the informal sector.

139. Based upon accurate arrivals forecasts derived from (a), and in reference to (b) Project accommodation and facilities demand and prepare a tourism ‘layer’ for incorporation into a city physical development plan. Identify new development zones.

e. Streetscape and Urban Design

140. City Gateways: develop city gateway sites on each of the three main approaches to Dilijan. These sites which should be designed in reference to the city’s architectural and cultural heritage should also provide markers to an extended network of walking and cycle trails.

Figure 13. Example for tourist entrance gate

Appendix 2 55

141. Upgrade Central Area streetscape and landscaping: improve the image of the city through a series of urban design interventions. the streetscape of the city should be upgraded by improvements to footpaths, street furniture and lighting as well as landscaping the roadside and major public spaces.

142. Riverside Parkway, restore the river course and adjoining vacant land packages to construct a linear riverside parkway with a pedestrian and segregated cycle spine running through Dilijan and providing linkages to an area-wide pedestrian and cycle network.

Figure 14. Riverside parkway

f. Transport Information

143. Provide Tourism-related road and information signageto the resort area and related area attractions as well as to trunk transport infrastructure element such as the new ADB funded North-South Highway.. Programme should be implemented to international norms, the possibility of signage sponsorship should be investigate.

144. Investigate and implement web and mobile based navigation and information app development for Dilijan. g. Human Resource Development

145. Develop local tourism training school in Dilijan to service tourism HRD needs throughout the Marz, with particular emphasis on vocational, adventure spots and community-based tourism training.

146. Develop and implement tourism awareness building programme to be implemented at school and community levels.

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H. Draft Project Evaluation Matrix

1. The Evaluation Process

147. The use of an evaluation matrix is one method of objectively evaluating a number ofoptions against a number of criteria. These criteria are prioritised before the evaluation ismade with greater weighting to those items of most importance. If there are criteria thatabsolutely must be met, two levels of evaluation matrices can be used. An evaluation matrix for potential tourism and culture project has been prepared and is set out in this section. Given the broad and varied nature of the projects under consideration the evaluation criteria are broadly qualitative and not quantitative at this early stage of the programme.

148. In order to assist in the evaluation process criteria are considered as either being mandatory or desirable, with mandatory criteria either acting as a filter in the initial evaluation or being weighted a single evaluation assessment process. This section sets out a range of tourism-related evaluation criteria as well as criteria related to programme objectives.

149. Mandatory criteria are requirements that absolutely must be satisfied for an option, or potential project, to be considered for selection. These criteria can be considered as go/no- gocriteria. As such no further prioritisation or weighting is necessary within the mandatory group of criteria. The mandatory criteria selected for the evaluation process and set out below in the Draft Evaluation Matrix Sheet are derived from two sources; the programme Terms of Reference and the Tourism Draft Business Plan

2. Desirable Criteria

150. Desirable criteria are requirements that should to some degree be fulfilled and will bring some form of net benefit. Meeting such criteria is highly desirable; however some criteria may be sacrificed if the overall result is a net benefit.

151. The weighting of such desirable criteria is proposed to reflect the relative importance of criteria within the evaluation framework. The greater importance of criteria, the higher the weighting it is attributed. For the evaluation of potential projects it is proposed to use a three level weighting; high, medium, low. Each of these bends should be allocated a different numeric value, the following is proposed; high=5, medium=3 and low=1.In the Draft Evaluation Matrix proposed weightings for the range of desirable evaluation criteria are indicated.

3. Draft Evaluation Matrix Sheet

152. Set out below is an example of a Draft Evaluation Matrix Sheet, which should be completed for each proposed project as part of the evaluation process. As has been already stated this draft matrix may be expanded by other team members to included identified mandatory and desirable evaluation criteria in their respective fields of expertise, for example in transport, finance or economics. In the identification of evaluation criteria care should be taken not to

153. The draft sheet indicated a three level weighting for the fulfilment of desirable criteria, this may be adjusted if a heavier weighting towards criteria is felt to be more appropriate this may be considered by the project evaluation time.

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154. A single evaluation sheet for each potential project should be completed and assessed by a single evaluator, or team members, against other potential projects in a two stage process.

Project Description Evaluation Criteria Mandatory Desirable Weighting Score Will project improve or develop 1 tourism-based transport X infrastructure? Will project improve resort area 2 X connectivity? Will project improve local area and 3 X attractions connectivity? Does the project generate 4 significant employment 5 opportunities? Does the project protect or improve 5 5 environmental conditions? Will the project be sustained by 6 X 5 market demand? Does the project diversify the 7 3 tourism product offer? Does the project support destination 8 3 marketing Does the project generate private 9 5 sector investment opportunities? Does the project improve 10 streetscape and urban design 3 improvements? Will the project assist in broadening 911 3 the tourism season? Does the project improve tourism- 12 related information systems or 3 services? Will the project create opportunities 13 3 for community based tourism? Does the project improve or support 14 Tourism Human Resources 1 development? Does the project create ecotourism 15 1 development opportunities? Total

Figure 15. Draft Evaluation Matrix

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III. APPENDIX 3: COMMUNICATION MATERIAL

155. Communication material will be prepared as a basic documentation allowing to all involved organisations, institutions, stakeholders to obtain a complete overview on the strategic proposals, preliminary selected projectsand actions developed in the CDP.

156. The communication material to be prepared will include brochures, renderings, exhibition boards, and other graphical and data inputs (principally elaborated during diagnostic phase) which allow designing a website for each city to market the city’s strategic vision.

157. Final objective of this communication material will be preparing exhibition and displaying of the CDPs’ objectives, principles, and main steps drafted out in the technical documentation.

158. Additionally a 10-page brochure presenting the CDPs and the investment opportunities will be prepared.

A. GIS-Mapping

159. All relevant spatial data will be represented graphically by GIS/Mapping techniques, in order to create a local data base that allows being used as a useful urban planning tool. Mapping the collected data on digital maps utilizing geographic information system tools, highlighting urban infrastructure, jobs, industry, historical sites, craft, and agriculture. Accuracy of collected data will be enhanced by satellite imagery provided by ESA.

1. General information - maps and graphics

i. General map of Armenia ii. Regional localization of the city (Marz level) iii. Topography iv. Slopes v. Geology vi. Hydrology vii. Natural hazards viii. Land use ix. Population distribution x. Tourism and cultural heritage sites

2. Detailed strategic information – maps and graphics

i. Urban Infrastructure ii. Roads and street network iii. Drinking water, iv. Sewerage network v. Energy, street lighting vi. Solid waste vii. Public services, public transport, viii. Urban planning – Master and Development plans

160. All data will be prepared in shp format and will be accessible by Opensource Programs.

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B. Desk study to provide examples of cities in Europe and Asia with similar development issues,

1. The Bilbao Effect

161. Bilbao successfully attracted the European Museum of the Guggenheim Foundation to the city. The original museum is in New York and is a seminal building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright while in Bilbao the museum, designed by Frank Gehry is already established a place for itself as an architectural tour de force. A central plank in the economic regeneration of Bilbao the Guggenheim has proved itself to be an outstanding success to the point where it’s now known as the Guggenheim Effect of Bilbao Effect.

162. When Bilbao, a decaying industrial city in Spain’s Basque country, decided in the 1990s to spend US$228.3 million on a modern art museum, critics objected to squandering so much public money on something so irrelevant and exclusive.Bilbao did not construct the museum simply for the sake of having an iconic building; this was one answer in a quest to address a number of serious problems. The city suffered an extremely high unemployment rate, up to 25 percent. The city endeavoured to tackle these problems through a holistic plan in which tourism and culture played a key role and the Guggenheim Museum was the flagship development.

Figure 16: The Guggenheim Bilbao

163. Since its opening in 1998 the Guggenheim has had a transformative effect on the city of Bilbao and currently receives around one million tourists a year, of whom almost half are international visitors. After its initial six years of operation the city estimated that its direct economic impact on the local economy was 147 million US$ a year, with a further US$23 million in local tax contributions as well as the creation of over 4,400 new jobs and the successful repositioning of Bilbao as vibrant and exciting urban centre.

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2. Glasgow City of Culture

164. With a current urban population of 1.75 million and metropolitan area population of almost 3 million, Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and the third largest city in the United Kingdom. In the nineteenth century the city developed from its medieval roots to become one of the world’s major industrial centres producing more than half Britain's tonnage of shipping and a quarter of all locomotives in the world. In addition to its pre- eminence in shipbuilding, engineering, industrial machinery, building, chemicals, explosives, coal and oil industries it developed as a major centre in textiles, garment-making, carpet manufacturing, leather processing, furniture-making, pottery, food, drink and cigarette making; printing and publishing. Shipping, banking, insurance and professional services expanded at the same time.

165. Growing overseas competition and a lack of investment led to a long period of industrial and economic decline and deindustrialisation generating high unemployment and a rapid fall in the city’s population. The 1960s numerous initiatives to turn around the city’s fortunes were launched particularly in the areas of infrastructure improvements, health and social housing. It was however only in the 1980s with the development of a more integrated approach to economic regeneration and, more significantly to engineer the rebranding of the city as an investment destination. The seminal event in this process was the designation of Glasgow as ‘European City of Culture’ in 1990 which provided a platform to diversify the city’s economy into tourism, leisure and culture a process which has seen the successful reimaging of the city as an attractive, diverse and dynamic centre. Through this process of regeneration new and modern industries have been attracted to the city. Today, although marginally behind the UK average, Glasgow still has a higher employment rate than Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester.

Figure 17: Glasgow Conference and Exhibition Complex

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166. The city now attracts 28 per cent of all international visitors to the United Kingdom and with domestic tourist now welcomes some 2.8 million overnight tourists each year. In 2011 the annual visitor spend in the city was calculated to be US$1.14 billion directly supporting 31,000 jobs in the city, 7.6 per cent of the total workforce. The city now has now grown and developed as a tourism destination. With over 10,000hotel bedrooms, conference facilities including the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, one of the world’s largest performance arenas a wealth of visitor attractions and strong retail and cultural offering

3. Tourism Observatory of Avila, Spain.

167. The main objective of the project was to promote tourism quality management and promotion the city as a tourist destination.

168. In 2002, among other activities promoted within the framework of the “Plan de Excelencia”, Ávila inaugurated its Tourism Observatory. This instrument was conceived to monitor and evaluate the evolution of the tourism in the city, and its objective is to collect and process in real time any information that can be useful for the authorities responsible of the culture and tourism sector, and for the local agents. The observatory started to work first thanks to an agreement between the Municipality of Ávila and the Universidad de Salamanca. Since 2003 the agreement was between Ávila and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, which provides the analysis of the data collected. Its main tasks are: the creation and maintenance of databases with information about tourism; the periodical analysis of the information, and comparison with previous analysis; the development of specific surveys about events that generate tourism; the redaction of the Informative Bulletin of the Tourism Observatory of Avila. The Observatory has been functioning continuously for the last 4 years and has produced so far 10 bulletins. Among other results, it has assessed such different issues as the success of the enhancement of the Walls as tourist attraction, or the relationship between the increase of tourism in 2004 and the exhibition “Las Edades del Hombre: Testigos”, or the impact of the gastronomic fair “Ávila en tapas” or the weight of the offer of Spanish language courses in the offer of the city. These results allow the managers and local actors to correct and improve their strategies in order to enhance positive effects and minimize negative impacts of tourism in the city. There is actually no local organization at Dilijan that could assume this assessment. but reactivation of tourist association might be an adequate addressee fo such a proposal.

a. Categories of effects:

169. Effects on urban governance: i. Strategy ii. Steering government iii. Destination management iv. Stakeholder participation

170. Effects on quality of life : i. Built heritage diversity ii. Cultural practices and representations iii. Urban economies iv. Social life, local values and traditions

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4. Other innovative and ambitious transportation practices in Europe. Project collection

171. Important and diverse innovative transportation practices have been implemented all over Europe. Some examples which could be taken into account for the future of the city, have been compiled and charts have been created.This compilation gives an idea of the project and the results obtained.

172.Some of the projects that have been developed are listed below:

i. Intermodal transport control system for public transport ii. Unique ticketing system for different modes of transport – e-ticketing iii. Urban traffic managing systems iv. Etc.

173.For further information check: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/its/road/action_plan/doc/2013-urban-its-expert_group- best-practice-collection.pdf

C. Organization of a public consultation to share the objectives and main components, and finalize the CDP based on the feedback from all stakeholders.

174. Different exchanges and meetings have been held in order to identify the objectives which will be consolidated in the next stage.

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IV. APPENDIX 4: LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

A. List of tables

Table 1: Dilijan climate ...... 8 Table 2: Land use classification ...... 13 Table 3. Capacity of accommodation establishments ...... 25 Table 4: Forecast arrivals segmentation 2010 - 2020 ...... 33 Table 5: Visitor Origin and Purpose of Visit, %, January to March 2013 ...... 35 Table 6: Travellers of Armenian Background, %, by origin and purpose of visit...... 36 Table 7. Sex and age breakdown for incoming travellers by the purposes of visit ...... 37 Table 8. Duration of trips by incoming travellers by the type of lodging and the purpose of visit ...... 38 Table 9. Breakdown of incoming travellers’ by Marz and country of origin ...... 39 Table 10. Breakdown of incoming tourists by Marz and purpose of visit ...... 40 Table 11. Estimated international arrivals by Marz ...... 40 Table 12. Estimated international arrivals by Marz and purpose of visit ...... 41 Table 13. Expenditure by visitor origin and expenditure segment (US$)...... 42 Table 14. Average expenditure (US$) by purpose of visit ...... 43 Table 15: Forecast arrivals segmentation 2010 - 2020 ...... 44

B. List of figures

Figure 1. Provinces of Armenia ...... 17 Figure 2. Attractions, Regional Context ...... 19 Figure 3. Land Use and Tourism Inventory Mapping ...... 20 Figure 4: Dilijan Museum ...... 21 Figure 5: Haghartsin Monastery ...... 22 Figure 6. Dilijan Architecture ...... 24 Figure 7. Old Dilijan Tourist Information Centre ...... 26 Figure 8: Foreseen evolution of total tourism inflows to Armenia. 2010-2020 ...... 33 Figure 9. Example of a screen bird blind Figure 10. Hide using natural materials ...... 48 Figure 11. France: Campsite leisure facilities, pools, bar and restaurants ...... 50 Figure 12. Overview of Possible Interventions ...... 53 Figure 13. Example for tourist entrance gate ...... 54 Figure 14. Riverside parkway ...... 55 Figure 15. Draft Evaluation Matrix ...... 57 Figure 16: The Guggenheim Bilbao ...... 59 Figure 17: Glasgow Conference and Exhibition Complex ...... 60

C. List of maps

Map 1: Topographical map ...... 7 Map 2: Slopes ...... 8 Map 3: Geology ...... 9 Map 4: Hydrology ...... 10 Map 5: Land use ...... 11 Map 6: Natural hazards ...... 14 Map 7: Protected areas ...... 16