COMMUNITY-BASED TRANS-CAUCASUS TOURISM INITIATIVE

The tourism industry in the Caucasus yielded important income to all three countries during the Soviet period, and statistics demonstrate that the impact of tourism on the economy of the region was considerable. The region's tourism potential remains strong, due to the richness of its varied cultures, architecture and landscapes, but wars, civil strife, blockades, and inappropriate economic policies have reduced tourist revenues to a trickle. The purpose of this initiative is to develop a regional action plan for community based tourism in the region, which will promote poverty reduction, conservation of natural and cultural resources, and provide an incentive for economic cooperation among the states of the region.

The first stage of this initiative will be a report that will provide: individual and regional policy recommendations to foster the tourism industry; identification of specific sites to be selected as pilots for the continuation of the Trans-Caucasus Tourism initiative and identification of information lacuna and proposed survey methods to supply necessary data.