ArmInfo. PM4SD Summer School in Leadership and Governance for Sustainable Tourism will be held for the first time in Armenia. Trainings at the international school will be held in Yerevan and Dilijan from October 18 to 21, 2019.
Arman Valesyan, Project Coordinator for Integrated Rural Tourism Development, UNDP, called holding the PM4SD summer school in Armenia an unprecedented event, as the event is being held outside Europe for the first time. Thus, Armenia became a country, marking the first such program in the region. As Valesyan explained, the event will be open to local companies that will be able to take part in master classes for free, and all financial expenses will be covered by UNDP. In general, according to him, participation in the school costs about 500 euros, but for Armenia it will be free. "There are a lot of projects. By the end of the year, it is planned to open several community hotels, a cheese cellar is also being built in Gegharkunik, a museum is planned to be opened in Metsamor, and new gastro courtyards will be opened. If we are able to continue to develop the concept of gastro-courtyards, that is, the concept of working with villagers at home, which is a new for Armenia, as well as for Georgia, then this will be very important, since it works. The projects we have implemented so far, are working, each of them has its own clients'', said Valesyan. According to his estimates, the Aragatsotn region should become another center of wine tourism in Armenia and this region can also position itself through gastro-tourism.
To note, the upcoming event will be held in the framework of cooperation between the UNDP project "Integrated Development of Rural Tourism" funded by the Russian Federation, the Sustainable Development Project Management, Foundation fo European Sustainable Tourism -( FEST ) and the European Travel Commission (ETC), the Aurora Forum and Tourism Committee of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia. In total, the "Integrated Rural Tourism Development" program will cover 60 rural communities of Armenia. The project was funded by the Russian Federation in the amount of about 3 million US dollars.
The summer school will focus on one of the most important topics in the tourism industry, in particular how to plan and improve the success of sustainable tourism projects and track the benefits of funded initiatives.
The workshops will be held with the participation of international experts on sustainable tourism, covering topics such as: digital innovation, food tourism, destination management, marketing and branding, storytelling.
This event has gained even greater recognition through a partnership with the first Aurora forum, which will bring together leading international authorities in the field of social, scientific, technical, educational and humanitarian innovations.