SILK ROAD

Establish Cross-border Tourism Trail “Black Sea Silk Road Corridor” (“BSSRC”) in and between Partner states.
Currently the proposed area of project has problems of isolation and poor tourism infrastructure. As a result, Cross-border tourism is limited in its potential to generate economic growth at the community level (especially rural); communities and tourists are isolated from each other, with missed economic opportunities (traditional products, local tourism services, etc.).  Isolation between communities in cross border areas limits growth and mutually beneficial contact as well.

The BSSRC route crosses borders and encourages dialogue as well as contact with partner state communities and cultures, and with international visitors. It encourages tourism, tourists and their purchasing of local products and services. It has the potential to break isolation between communities on cross-borders, as tourists, income and incentive to improve and cooperate grow.  This begins through simply marking the corridor and monuments and trails, then in providing a platform for communication (APPs, Web Portal).

Objectives

• Support development of local economies through tourism in Partner states in the Black Sea Basin. The BSSRC project aims to improve economic development by its establishment and promotion of local services and products at communities along the Silk Route trail from Yerevan to Thessaloniki, through increased awareness, tourism and promotion.
• Enhance visitor experience at tourism sites in Partner states in the Black Sea Basin.The BSSRC will improve visitor experience at sites on the trail in two ways: physically marking the trail with branded directional signs pointing to cultural, historic and natural monuments and protected areas on the trail, and virtually through the creation of self-guided visits in the 5 APPs and Web Portal the project will create.
• Promote cross cultural cooperation through cross-border partnerships.Establishing the BSSRC across borders is local, people-to people (both in creating the trail and in its operation as a tourist destination) and by its definition promotes working together to address the common challenges of rural isolation and poverty at many regions along the trail.
• Encourage protection of cultural monuments and biodiversity hotspots through regenerative tourist activities.Communication development via 3G/4G networks and smart phone APPs and Web Portal spurs tourism and so the incentive to develop infrastructure and investments. This includes regenerative tourism, tourism that is not only sustainable, but actually regenerates itself by a) raising awareness of local ecologies (Marking Trails, signs, GPS positioning and maps, APPs with detailed descriptions and maps of hiking route, flora and fauna on the trail, and sites to be noted.) and b) give incentive to develop ecotourism in Protected Areas and to provide alternate means of income to communities Partners.

• Armenian Monuments Awareness Project (AMAP) , Armenia – Lead partner
• The Economists’ Association (EkP)   Turkey,
• European Regional Framework for Co-operation (ERFC), Greece,
• TADZRELI Foundation, Georgia,
• Armenian Society for the Protection of Birds/BirdLife International Associate in Armenia, (ASPB), Armenia