Greece has good beaches. Armenia does not.

This is just one of many large differences between the two countries.

However, Greece is an affordable vacation destination for much of Europe. I'd rather see Armenia's tourism industry base itself on the Chech model.

Could Yerevan be a Prague?

> Could Yerevan be a Prague?

I think not, Katy. Even Tbilisi which is prettier than Yerevan can't be a Prague.

Armenia's virtue as a tourist destination woudl be if prices are kept low and concentrate on the cultural and historical monuments in the country. However, even that won't do for every tourist and so development of eco-tourism, winter sports, health spas etc would be important. The Diaspora tourist makes things simpler of course as just stepping foot in Armenia, especially if Ararat is visible, is about all that's required. For foreigners, however, travelling to the regions is important and investing in that infrastructure.

But Yerevan will not be a Prague. It's too new a city and the remnants of Erebuni don't really make up for a lack of historic buildings such as those found in Prague. Of course, for the Diaspora it probably won't matter. Yerevan was always the focus of everybody's attention even during the soviet days to attract Diasporan interest in Armenia. For foreigners, the environment, nature, culture and history that's mainly outside of Yerevan is the attraction.

What we need more than anything, however, is regional community-based sustainable tourism development programs.

And of course, there's enormous potential for any tourism programs that involve two or more countries in the S. Caucasus region or that border it. Georgia-Armenia or Armenia-Iran, for example. But that's only one possibility. Tourism is probably a multi-faceted thing. You need to cater for everyone.