The opening ceremony of the regular river rafting tours in River Debed, realized due to the joint efforts of the “Association of Young Women of Armenia”, “NURIK Travel” and “Integrated Rural Tourism Development” project funded by the Russian Federation, was attended by the President of Georgia’s National Rafting Federation, David Katsarava who had trained the Armenian instructors together with his team in Armenia for several weeks.
“At the invitation of the Armenian side, our specialists and I have often visited this place lately. And now I have come to the opening ceremony of the program. Here they want to develop both commercial and sports rafting. It is a welcome idea. We have worked with each other intensively for two months by training Armenian instructors, studied and learned River Debed. Lori region and your country overall, as Georgia, has many undiscovered opportunities of popularizing a lot of fields of active recreation. I believe, rafting is one of its best means, inasmuch as it is one of the most loved and widespread types of extreme tourism worldwide and can attract thousands of tourists into the region,” said D. Katsarava.
Asked what rafting gives Georgia being so popular there, D. Katsarava replied: “Tourist and sports rafting is developing in Georgia at a high speed bringing more and more tourists year by year. They get acquainted with Georgia’s high degree rough waters or mountain rivers. It led to the organization of two European competitions in the latest years, and now we are going to struggle also for organizing the World Cup in Georgia. Armenia also has such wonderful opportunity with its River Debed. The efforts that the program initiators put can be more effective in the sense of creating a new service product, attracting tourists to Armenia from the various corners of the world, developing new fields of business in regions beyond Yerevan and creating job places for the local residents. Just the attention and support of the leadership and respective structures of your country is also required. By the way, Debed is not the only river where rafting can be developed. Dzoraget and Qasakh rivers also have such opportunity.”
Arman Valesyan, the coordinator of “Integrated Rural Tourism Development” project of the UNDP, added: “We waited for having respective specialists, property, and costumes, and provide the security, check also the quality of the water for a year. In short, everything has been calculated. And rafting has been chosen in complement with three business requirements: whether it is it possible to sell it, if it will have a demand and if the village will gain a benefit from that service.”
Mr. Valesyan also mentioned that UNDP “Integrated Rural Tourism Development” project aims to develop tourism in 60 rural areas.
ASHOT HAKOBYAN
“Aravot”
