Tourism Marketing Project Update: Armenia Destination Website

Solimar is working with the USAID funded EDMC Project in supporting the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia (NCFA) to develop a national tourism website designed to raise awareness of the country in key international markets .

Tourism in Armenia has experienced high rates of growth in the past few years, made possible by a combination of the national government’s prioritization of tourism development, investments in infrastructure and internatioanl tourism promotion (including this parachute-focused television spot below). Solimar’s goal is to augment this growth through smart tourism marketing.

Our first step in tackling destination websites is to develop a comprehensive website strategy that takes into consideration target market preferences, user experience, architecture requirements, and content needs. As a national tourism portal, this site will have a significant amount of practical travel information, including over 100 pages of rich informative content, interactive maps, photo and video viewers, and the ability for Armenian tourism business to upload and manage content about their businesses. A mobile-compatible app is also in the works.

Long-term sustainability of the website after development funding ends is an important consideration for us.  A new not-for-profit company owned by the NCFA and overseen by a six-member private sector advisory board will manage the portal and offer membership, advertising and booking functions to fund its operations. 

The website is presently in development and is anticipated to be launching by the end of 2013. Once launched it will provide NCFA and the country with a high-quality marketing tool through which to promote the country to prospective travelers and drive those travelers to tourism business, increasing awareness and tourism sales.