For attracting tourists, it is not enough just to present the beauty of the nature, the history and culture of the country. If you do not speak the tourist’s language, he/she will not be able understand you. Knowledge of a foreign language is critical for the employees of hotels, guesthouses, cafes and restaurants, tourism information centres.

Therefore, the British Council in Armenia, in cooperation with the EU and  the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) has agreed to offer free English language courses for the representatives of the tourism industry from the three Northern regions of Armenia- Tavush, Lori and Shirak.

The English courses are organised within the frame of the EU4Business “Innovative Tourism and Technology Development for Armenia’’ project, which is co-funded by the European Union and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the German Development Cooperation Agency (GIZ).

Wilhelm Hugo, the team leader of the EU4Business “Innovative Tourism and Technology Development for Armenia (ITTD)” project

Photo: Mediamax

Mediamax has attended the project launching event in Dilijan, Tavush region, which along with the guests present, was joined via video-link by the representatives from other regions and trainers.

 “I am very happy to be here, since the project combines two spheres that are very special to me: education and tourism”, said the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Armenia John Gallagher.

“Armenia is a cosy corner hidden from the world. More people should now about this wonderful country. I am glad that the project will bring tangible benefits to Armenia, making it more accessible to foreign tourists ensuring bigger tourism revenues in the Armenian economy. Armenia is making a transition to a future-oriented economic model; thus, tourism shall have a greater role in providing sustainable economic income for the country”, mentioned the Ambassador.

John Gallagher

Photo: Mediamax

He emphasized, that the Armenian representatives of the tourism sector, gaining the required language skills will be able to establish contacts with foreign partners and tourists, which will have a positive impact on their activities.

“Tourism achieves success when the host country is able to communicate in a language that the tourists speak”, mentioned Frank Hess, the Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Armenia.

“There are three languages that are most often used in the EU. I am German and my native language is the third most often used language in the EU. In earlier days, I used to teach French, which is the second language. As you know, English is still the most spoken language in the EU despite the Brexit, and the majority of tourists still communicate in this language”, he mentioned.  

Frank Hess

Photo: Mediamax

Frank Hess mentioned that the Northern regions of Armenia and the country in general have a big potential for growth. And in the country context, this potential is particularly vivid in IT sector, while the mentioned northern regions can experience substantial progress through tourism.

“The aim of the English language courses is to bring more tourists to Armenia and thus improve the living standards of people in the country”, said the Country Director of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) Office in Armenia Madeleine Rauschenberger.

In addition to language courses,  GIZ is implementing also number of other projects in the mentioned regions, supporting promotion of small businesses.

Madeleine Rauschenberger

Photo: Mediamax

“Our aim in tourism sector, is to improve the supply part, due which it will be possible to attract more tourists to Armenia, thus providing more job places. I fully agree, that Armenia has great potential in tourism, and it’s a great privilege for us to support the industry. From June 2020, with the EU support  we have successfully provided coronavirus-related assistance to 35 economic entities engaged in tourism, within the frame of various grant programmes, thus saving around 100 job places”, said Madeleine Rauschenberger.

She emphasized the importance of cooperation with the RA Tourism Committee, within the frame of which, activities aimed at marketing and branding of tourism sector in Armenia are carried out.

“All these activities are targeting fulfilment of very ambitious goals, i.e., to make the tourism sector in Armenia more sustainable, profitable and encourage more people to visit Armenia. Since growth in foreign tourist arrivals is expected, thus our cooperation with the British Council was quite expected, within the framework of which the representatives of tourism industry from the three Northern regions of Armenia will study English. I am happy that as a result of our cooperation 140 representatives of tourism sector will have an opportunity to take part in the courses. Knowledge of languages helps building cultural bridges, and with good command of foreign languages, representatives of the industry will be able to understand better what the visiting tourists are mostly interested in, what they would like to see and find Armenia”, said the GIZ Country Office Director.

Madeleine Rauschenberger and John Gallagher

Photo: Mediamax

Gayane Ayvazyan, Advisor at the Tourism Committee attached high importance to the language courses from the perspective of making the touristic proposals more attractive.  

“Today, more than ever, the tourism sector needs further strengthening, diversification of offers, enhancement of the capacities of industry representatives and promotion of innovative ideas. This programme will give an opportunity to make the touristic proposals more attractive, provide high-quality services and gain competitive advantages”. -she mentioned

The English language courses are organized by the British Council Office in Armenia, and will be held online. The classes will start from January 2022.

Gayane Ayvazyan

Photo: Mediamax

“The British Council has a long-standing experience in delivering English language courses, and this is one of the key areas of our activity. I am very excited, that we will have an opportunity to work with tourism sector representatives from the three regions. Before the outbreak of COVID19, Armenia was becoming an increasingly attractive touristic destination. So COVID19 gave some time to tourism businesses for improving the infrastructures, language skills, getting ready to welcome bigger number of foreign visitors”, said Arevik Saribekyan, the Director of the British Council in Armenia.

Arevik Saribekyan

Photo: Mediamax

According to her, 150 people have already registered for participating in the English language courses, and this shows, that the courses are of high demand. After certain selection procedures, 140 participants will be enrolled.

Gurgen Harutyunyan, the Head of Tourism and Development Programmes Department in Tavush Regional Administration is one of those, who has registered to participate in the courses.

“For now, all I can say in English is “hi”, so if I get elected as a participant of the project, you will be able to watch my progress”, said Gurgen Harutyunyan.

Gurgen Harutyunyan

Photo: Mediamax

He mentioned, that tourism is one of the priority areas for the development of Tavush region, and in this context, it is highly important to improve the educational status of the industry representatives.

“Over years, through the funding from both, the EU and GIZ, targeted investments and programmes have been implemented in Tavush as well as other regions of Armenia. And this initiative is a logical follow-up of the mentioned programmes”, said Gurgen Harutyunyan.

Arevik Saribekyan

Photo: Mediamax

Within the frame of the courses, it is planned to focus on the improvement of spoken communication skills, listening comprehension, reading, writing, grammar. People with different level of English knowledge can join the courses. The participants will be divided into groups according to the level of knowledge.

Yana Shakramanyan

Photos by Emin Aristakesyan