Tourism Develpment in the South Caucasus: Challenges and Opportunities in the Republic of Armenia

by James Wilton

Abstract:
Tourism in Soviet Armenia was a thriving sector, but with the fall of the Soviet Union the newly independent country had more pressing concerns (e.g., economic, political). However, after several years of stagnancy tourism started showing signs of expansion in the late 1990s. Since then tourism has continued to grow as more visitors have discovered Armenia’s many historical and cultural attractions, while the Armenian government has been more active in promoting the country. Yet by far most of the tourism development is within the capital city while the regions have only modestly been influenced by this emerging sector. This article takes a brief look at tourism in Armenia, its historical context and current direction. Many of the observations discussed here were based through personal investigations while temporarily residing in the country.

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