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Ecosystem platforms > TOURISM AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM

PILOT REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM CO-FINANCED BY THE EU

Together with the European Commission, the Pilot Regional Development Program has been carried out in Dilijan. It is aimed at the development and promotion of the tourism and hospitality industry in Dilijan and its vicinities, in order to create new jobs and business opportunities. Overall, 46 new jobs have been created and 95 enterprises were supported through trainings and business consultancies, as well as various promotional activities, such as video shoots, website and promotional material development, logos and signage.

The Dilijan project is ahead of other projects in many respects. I believe that the involvement of the IDeA Foundation was an excellent move, and thanks to it we opened an excellent information and tourist center in Dilijan.

Piotr Switalski, the head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, 2019

The Tourist information Centre (TIC) is the first of its kind in the Tavush district. It offers comprehensive information to tourists and guests visiting Dilijan and the region. One of its key objectives is to boost the tourist attractiveness of Dilijan National Park and its adjacent areas, and become a major platform for coordinating all tourism and recreation-related events in the region. Over 6,000 tourists have already referred to the TIC for its services.

Dilijan Arts&Crafts Centre and workshops in surrounding villages have been created. They provide spaces for joint working for craftsmen, including the provision of equipment and materials for workshops, as well as support for craftsmen to develop products that meet market needs, and access sales channels.

A project on Capacity Building for hospitality sector designs and delivers trainings and seminars for businesses and people involved or interested in tourism and hospitality (customer services, B&Bs, touristic guides, language courses, etc). The project has organised various trainings for around 330 people to date.

Sub-grants to small businesses have been a key component of the program. A sub-granting stream has provided access to finance for SMEs from Dilijan and six adjacent villages. In total, four new businesses have been launched and four existing businesses expanded: seven operating in tourism and hospitality, and one in the field of arts and crafts.

Dilijan’s City Market and Agro Pavilion aim to become a central point for wholesale procurement for the hospitality sector and restaurants. An Agro Pavilion on the main YerevanTbilisi highway was constructed to contribute to the improvement of access to market for local agricultural producers.

New hiking trails in Dilijan National Park have been established within the scope of this program, including the signposting and blazing of 11 trails.

FACTS AND FIGURES

2000

employment contracts during the school and other construction

330

permanent workplaces for local people in Dilijan

129

people moved to Dilijan for a permanent job (of them 40 are foreign citizens from 15 countries)

23

businesses supported to be set up or expanded

5%

of families residing in Dilijan receive regular income due to involvement in our projects

Since the start of our activities in Dilijan

▶ number of retail shops increased 8 times,

▶ cafes and restaurants number grew 4 times,

▶ number of hotels and B&Bs increased by 3.5 times

▶ overall accommodation capacity doubled.

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Dear Visitor,

We are glad you are interested in the activities of the IDeA Foundation.

On this platform, you can learn about two-decades long thought, passion, commitment and hard work — all in pursuit of a more prosperous Armenia. The road has been long and reflections many. But we managed to achieve to a point where our work has left its mark on the lives of millions of people and we are really proud of it.

Our accomplishments are the fruit of a collective effort by hundreds of thousands of promoters and volunteers, tens of thousands of donors and supporters, hundreds of colleagues and dozens of founding partners. Together, we have shown what wonderous things can be achieved when people strive for realization of a common goal.

Allow our family, who was lucky enough to witness these remarkable achievements from the beginning, to express our sincere gratitude to numerous wonderful, caring, purposeful people and organizations that made all these achievements possible. We have the honor to present their successes and express our gratitude to them.

We have tried to present the key landmarks of our journey to a brighter Armenia, to chart the lessons learned, and some of the new approaches and initiatives they have forged — the 700 projects over the last 20 years.

We hope that learning about these works will be as pleasant for you as it is for us to tell about them.

But, more importantly, we would like to see you among those Armenians who will continue this path together with us in the future.

If a single community of like-minded people working towards the realization of a common vision of the future can achieve such a result, imagine what kind of changes can be made if the efforts of the entire nation were directed towards creation. Together we can dream.

And, together, we can make our dreams come true.

Thank You,

Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend