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ARMENIA USES IT TO GROW TOURISM BY 92%
HULIQ
Sept 16 2009
SC
Tourism was declared a priority in Armenia in 2001 when the country was
celebrating the 1,700 anniversary of its proclaiming Christianity as
state religion. In the following years the number of foreign visitors
to Armenia grew by 92%. In January 2001 the US and Armenian governments
set up an Armenian Tourism Development Agency (ATDA).
In September 2001 sponsored by the International Executive Service
Corps ATDA opened "ARMENIANInformation," the first information
center in the South Caucasus. Armenia possesses vast cultural and
historical treasures but they can hardly make the country a tourist
attraction unless given an appropriate information frame. Experts say
that to become a developed tourist country Armenia needs a strong
information backing. It's here that Armenia's second priority,
information technologies, come in helpful. ARMINFO's correspondent
has asked ATDA Deputy Executive Director Angela Sax to specify how
ITs are used in tourism.
Q: Could you please tell about ATDA?
A: Our key objective is to present Armenia abroad and to shape its
image of a developed tourist country. We work in three directions:
first, to get involved and to involve other tourist companies
in international exhibitions; second, to actively cooperate with
foreign journalists and tourist operators; and third, to arrange
various events, like the "Kenats" festival, and to ensure their broad
coverage in the foreign press. The number of tourists visiting Armenia
has redoubled in the last three years. I am not saying that this is
our exclusive accomplishment but we have quite a big share in it.
Q: What do you think about ITs' role in the tourism development?
A: ITs are simply indispensable for Armenia, a country almost unknown
by the world in terms of tourism. It has long become a lifestyle
with people abroad to work in the internet. They even grasp the
information easier when it is presented electronically. That's why
internet-promotion is so important for shaping the country's image.
Quite recently we opened a web-site complying with all the modern
standards. Of course, we had some on-line information before but it was
rather scanty. The web-site www.armeniainfo.am was sponsored by USAID
and technically supported by IESC and the Armenian company T.I.B.. It
presents Armenia's sights, cultural and historical values, national
parks, art galleries. All this will make the tour unforgettable. The
site has merged "high tech" interface with "high art" aesthetics,
utilizing both ancient and modern Armenian motifs. From interactive
maps of cultural landmarks to a comprehensive and easily accessible
database of tour agents, hotels, restaurants, travel agencies
and so much more, the ATDA site has become the web's one- stop,
on-line, Armenian tourism venue. Much like the ATDA's now famous
ARMENIAInformation visitor's information center, at 3 Nalbandyan
Street in the heart of Yerevan, the new ATDA website is a virtual,
full service concierge facility and an expansive compendium of useful
information and resources--whether that be for travelers and tourists
or history lovers and the arts literati. Sections are thoughtfully
organized with easy access navigation bars; graphics and photos are
vibrant and compelling; maps are easy to read and truly interactive,
providing details on any given point in Armenia with the click of a
mouse. Background information and helpful travel hints are available
at every turn; shopping and recreation sites are explored side by
side with cultural centers, museums, concert halls and art galleries;
Armenia's vast array of architectural monuments and sacred sites are
finally presented in such a way that travel planning is almost as fun
as the actual visit. The site also provides a thorough and constantly
updated calendar of weekly events, available either online or via
e-mail subscription. With this new site, the ATDA has really given
both the interested traveler and the tourism industry professional--no
matter their point of origin--a place on the web to fulfill, as well
as provide for every type of Armenian tourism and travel need.
Today we enjoy wide contacts abroad established mainly through
international exhibitions. The first question we are always asked is
whether we have a web-site. Quite natural as in five minutes we cannot
tell everything about ATDA and Armenia while those concerned want to
know the most of the country they are going to visit. Nowadays ITs
are the most effective and the cheapest way to give information and
to keep in touch with people.
Q: What achievements have been made in Armenian tourism in the
last years?
A: We have already founded an association for coordinating tourist
camps all over Armenia. This is an opportunity for tourists not only
to leave Yerevan for the country but also to stay, go shopping and buy
services there and thereby to boost the economic development of the
regions. Foreign tourist love comfort and road restoration project
by the Lincy Foundation came in quite handy. One of our greatest
accomplishments is the recent amendment of article 34 of the law On
VAT exempting from VAT home tourism as well as the services provided
by Armenian travel agencies abroad. This change will make it cheaper
for foreigners to come to Armenia. We hope it will cover the hotel
business as well.
Q: What can you say about the work of the local travel agencies?
A: All our tour operators are professionals but some of them still keep
to the methods of the Soviet times when the key emphasis was laid on
historical and cultural values (pageant and Christian cathedrals). But
after visiting two-three churches a tourist begins to lose his interest
in the country. And so we need new technologies - ethnic tourism and
adventure tourism. .
Q: Are there any projects to develop extremal tourism in Armenia?
A: The country has all the natural conditions for developing extremal
tourism. But this type of business needs an appropriate infrastructure
- hotels, restaurants, services - and this all needs big money. The
construction of one ski route is not a way out of the situation. Here
we can only advise. The solution is in investments. There are many
businessmen who are ready to invest money in Armenia. Why not to
spent it on developing extreme?
Q: Drawing parallels between the two Armenian priorities, IT and
tourism, what can you say about the attention the government pays to
the spheres?
A: I would not separate the spheres as they complement each other. Both
of them have big infrastructure problems which though very slowly but
are being solved. NOTE: The web site www.armeniainfo.am is designed
and developed by TIB on OpenSource technologies which provide robust
services, stable work and security. The system makes it possible
for the administrator to manage the content of the site quickly and
easily. Few interactive sections like Interactive Map of Armenia,
Airline Map, and Virtual Tour are created by joint use of Macromedia
Flash, PHP and MySQL database server. The web site has a search engine,
which makes it possible to make a search within the site as well
as from Travel Agencies/Tour Operators' web sites and other Armenian
tourism related resources. Developer company (TIB) also took care about
the mirror page which is located in the USA and automatically detects
the closest server to redirect users making the view of the web site
as fast as possible independent from the user's location. The website
was developed in UNIX family OS (FreeBSD, Linux, etc.) using web server
Apache 1.x and higher. Dynamic pages were scripted in PHP with MySQL
database backend. XHTML (also DHTML) was used as a markup language.
HULIQ
Sept 16 2009
SC
Tourism was declared a priority in Armenia in 2001 when the country was
celebrating the 1,700 anniversary of its proclaiming Christianity as
state religion. In the following years the number of foreign visitors
to Armenia grew by 92%. In January 2001 the US and Armenian governments
set up an Armenian Tourism Development Agency (ATDA).
In September 2001 sponsored by the International Executive Service
Corps ATDA opened "ARMENIANInformation," the first information
center in the South Caucasus. Armenia possesses vast cultural and
historical treasures but they can hardly make the country a tourist
attraction unless given an appropriate information frame. Experts say
that to become a developed tourist country Armenia needs a strong
information backing. It's here that Armenia's second priority,
information technologies, come in helpful. ARMINFO's correspondent
has asked ATDA Deputy Executive Director Angela Sax to specify how
ITs are used in tourism.
Q: Could you please tell about ATDA?
A: Our key objective is to present Armenia abroad and to shape its
image of a developed tourist country. We work in three directions:
first, to get involved and to involve other tourist companies
in international exhibitions; second, to actively cooperate with
foreign journalists and tourist operators; and third, to arrange
various events, like the "Kenats" festival, and to ensure their broad
coverage in the foreign press. The number of tourists visiting Armenia
has redoubled in the last three years. I am not saying that this is
our exclusive accomplishment but we have quite a big share in it.
Q: What do you think about ITs' role in the tourism development?
A: ITs are simply indispensable for Armenia, a country almost unknown
by the world in terms of tourism. It has long become a lifestyle
with people abroad to work in the internet. They even grasp the
information easier when it is presented electronically. That's why
internet-promotion is so important for shaping the country's image.
Quite recently we opened a web-site complying with all the modern
standards. Of course, we had some on-line information before but it was
rather scanty. The web-site www.armeniainfo.am was sponsored by USAID
and technically supported by IESC and the Armenian company T.I.B.. It
presents Armenia's sights, cultural and historical values, national
parks, art galleries. All this will make the tour unforgettable. The
site has merged "high tech" interface with "high art" aesthetics,
utilizing both ancient and modern Armenian motifs. From interactive
maps of cultural landmarks to a comprehensive and easily accessible
database of tour agents, hotels, restaurants, travel agencies
and so much more, the ATDA site has become the web's one- stop,
on-line, Armenian tourism venue. Much like the ATDA's now famous
ARMENIAInformation visitor's information center, at 3 Nalbandyan
Street in the heart of Yerevan, the new ATDA website is a virtual,
full service concierge facility and an expansive compendium of useful
information and resources--whether that be for travelers and tourists
or history lovers and the arts literati. Sections are thoughtfully
organized with easy access navigation bars; graphics and photos are
vibrant and compelling; maps are easy to read and truly interactive,
providing details on any given point in Armenia with the click of a
mouse. Background information and helpful travel hints are available
at every turn; shopping and recreation sites are explored side by
side with cultural centers, museums, concert halls and art galleries;
Armenia's vast array of architectural monuments and sacred sites are
finally presented in such a way that travel planning is almost as fun
as the actual visit. The site also provides a thorough and constantly
updated calendar of weekly events, available either online or via
e-mail subscription. With this new site, the ATDA has really given
both the interested traveler and the tourism industry professional--no
matter their point of origin--a place on the web to fulfill, as well
as provide for every type of Armenian tourism and travel need.
Today we enjoy wide contacts abroad established mainly through
international exhibitions. The first question we are always asked is
whether we have a web-site. Quite natural as in five minutes we cannot
tell everything about ATDA and Armenia while those concerned want to
know the most of the country they are going to visit. Nowadays ITs
are the most effective and the cheapest way to give information and
to keep in touch with people.
Q: What achievements have been made in Armenian tourism in the
last years?
A: We have already founded an association for coordinating tourist
camps all over Armenia. This is an opportunity for tourists not only
to leave Yerevan for the country but also to stay, go shopping and buy
services there and thereby to boost the economic development of the
regions. Foreign tourist love comfort and road restoration project
by the Lincy Foundation came in quite handy. One of our greatest
accomplishments is the recent amendment of article 34 of the law On
VAT exempting from VAT home tourism as well as the services provided
by Armenian travel agencies abroad. This change will make it cheaper
for foreigners to come to Armenia. We hope it will cover the hotel
business as well.
Q: What can you say about the work of the local travel agencies?
A: All our tour operators are professionals but some of them still keep
to the methods of the Soviet times when the key emphasis was laid on
historical and cultural values (pageant and Christian cathedrals). But
after visiting two-three churches a tourist begins to lose his interest
in the country. And so we need new technologies - ethnic tourism and
adventure tourism. .
Q: Are there any projects to develop extremal tourism in Armenia?
A: The country has all the natural conditions for developing extremal
tourism. But this type of business needs an appropriate infrastructure
- hotels, restaurants, services - and this all needs big money. The
construction of one ski route is not a way out of the situation. Here
we can only advise. The solution is in investments. There are many
businessmen who are ready to invest money in Armenia. Why not to
spent it on developing extreme?
Q: Drawing parallels between the two Armenian priorities, IT and
tourism, what can you say about the attention the government pays to
the spheres?
A: I would not separate the spheres as they complement each other. Both
of them have big infrastructure problems which though very slowly but
are being solved. NOTE: The web site www.armeniainfo.am is designed
and developed by TIB on OpenSource technologies which provide robust
services, stable work and security. The system makes it possible
for the administrator to manage the content of the site quickly and
easily. Few interactive sections like Interactive Map of Armenia,
Airline Map, and Virtual Tour are created by joint use of Macromedia
Flash, PHP and MySQL database server. The web site has a search engine,
which makes it possible to make a search within the site as well
as from Travel Agencies/Tour Operators' web sites and other Armenian
tourism related resources. Developer company (TIB) also took care about
the mirror page which is located in the USA and automatically detects
the closest server to redirect users making the view of the web site
as fast as possible independent from the user's location. The website
was developed in UNIX family OS (FreeBSD, Linux, etc.) using web server
Apache 1.x and higher. Dynamic pages were scripted in PHP with MySQL
database backend. XHTML (also DHTML) was used as a markup language.