LILA Project Supporting Tourism Business Development in Yenoqavan

LILA Project Supporting Tourism Business Development in Yenoqavan

Yenokavan settlement in Tavush Region is one of the famous ecotourism centers in Armenia, its attraction is nature, forest, variety of birds and animals, geographical location and historical and cultural places.

"Living Landscapes for Market Development in Armenia" (LILA) and "Support to Establishment of Ecological Corridors in South Caucasus"-II projects contribute to the preservation of the picturesque nature of the village, its sustainable use, as well as the preservation of the eco-corridor of wild animals. Within the framework of LILA project, a 20-kW solar plant was installed on the roof of Yenoqavan administrative building, the electricity produced by which is used for street lighting of the administrative building and the village. Support has been provided for the expansion of one of the guest houses in Yenoqavan, and now works are underway to build a new guest house and a tent. Within the framework of the eco-corridors project, community environmental areas will be established, nature conservation and environmental thinking will be encouraged in the village in the form of various competitions.

About 15 households are engaged in domestic tourism, 12 tourist organizations operate in Yenoqavan.

Administrative Head of Yenoqavan Andranik Chibukhchyan told EcoLur about the tourist village. "At the moment, we already have a problem with an employee whose average daily salary is 5-10 thousand AMD. Approximately 9 new tourist buildings are being built in the village. Nature and ecotourism are the brand of our village. There is a zipline, a horse racetrack here. They buy food from the peasants, which also results in the development of animal husbandry and field farming."

Works are being carried out in the village aimed at infrastructure development. "Water will be brought from the area called Drdran through an 8.5 km pipeline. The 3,240-meter road leading to Apaga resort will be asphalted, which also promotes the development of tourism," Andranik Chibukhchyan noted.

Arman Gabrielyan also emphasized the establishment of an information center in the village. "People come to the village, they don't know where to go. And if there is an information center where tourists will be informed about where things are located, it will have a positive effect," he said.

"Support to Establishment of Ecological Corridors in South Caucasus"-II project is financed by the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany (BMZ) through the KfW bank.

"Living Landscapes for Market Development in Armenia" project is funded by the Swiss government through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). It is implemented by WWF Armenia together with “Strategic Development Agency” NGO in partnership with “EcoLur” informational NGO.

February 09, 2024 at 17:08