Scientific Tourism Development Bases in Armenia

Abstract

Tourism is one of the most rapidly developing branches of the world economy. Scientific tourism is one of the types of tourism which is often considered as knowledge oriented or learning tourism. It is organized mainly by researchers, students, academics, scientists in order to conduct research in a specific area. Scien- tific tourism activities include participation in expeditions, excavations, congresses, conferences, experi- ments, contests and other scientific events. In this case science and tourism are connected to each other, as science development promotes tourism. Armenia has a rich scientific heritage. Many Armenian universities, museums, observatories, laboratories, reservations may be of high interest for touristic visits. Besides, Armenian scientific centers may implement international scientific programs including international known scientists and specialists. The aim of this article is to present the essence of scientific tourism, to analyze the bases of scientific tourism development in Armenia, to find out the existing problems and find some solutions for them. At the end of the conducted analysis we have made some suggestions for advancing scientific tourism in Armenia, such as elaborating a strategic development plan of scientific tourism; developing appropriate tour packages for incoming and domestic tourists; introducing Armenia as a country of scientific tourism abroad with its rich scientific herit- age and traditions; including a course about scientific tourism in educational programs of tourism specialties of higher and vocational educational institutions; improving the statistics of the sphere; organizing interna- tional scientific events, scientific research programs, conferences, forums for attracting and involving inter- national scientists and developing tourism in Armenia