UNWTO Volunteers launch Spirit of Caucasus program in Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - In the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding on Initiative of tourism development in the South Caucasus region signed between Armenian Ministry of Economy and UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), volunteers from Georgia are in Armenia now to start implementation of the regional program.

The guests visited different provinces in Armenia and familiarized themselves with Armenian people culture and sights of interest.

As the Director of UNWTO Temis foundation volunteer program Luca Mannocchi told a news conference in Yerevan, the task force started implementation of the regional program titled Spirit of Caucasus two months ago, when letters comprising questions allowing to unveil both material and non-material values of the countries have been sent to respective authorities.

According to Ellen Bermann, UNWTO Sustainability Change Manager, Armenia possesses huge potential which can be demonstrated to the world, and the Spirit of Caucasus program will enable to present Armenia’s advantages and answer the question ‘why a tourist should choose just this country?’

In turn, the head of the department of tourism and territorial economic development at Armenian Economy Ministry Mekhak Apresyan pointed out two main variants of reply to the above question: first, the country is rich with cultural and historical heritage, climatic conditions in Armenia are favorable, the infrastructure is developing actively, but the ‘most significant advantage is hospitality of the Armenian people which allows every tourist feel adopted here.’

The Secretary General of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Taleb Riafi visited Armenia from July 3-6, accompanied by the Executive Director for Member Relations and Services Zoltan Somogyi.