Building a thriving Armenia through sustainable tourism: the journey of ONEArmenia
Founded in 2012, ONEArmenia (1A) has been on a mission to build a thriving Armenia by funding sustainable projects with radical transparency at the heart of their efforts. Among the first organisations to join Impact Hub Yerevan in 2016, 1A and its community of over 100,000 supporters have successfully implemented more than 35 socio-economic projects in rural Armenia. In 2021, they shifted their focus to sustainable tourism, aiming to make Armenia the top travel destination in the South Caucasus through extraordinary travel experiences that support rural job creation and adhere to international sustainability standards.
- Impact Hub Network
- Global team
Founded in 2012, ONEArmenia (1A) has dedicated itself to uniting individuals worldwide to recognise Armenia’s potential and support sustainable projects with radical transparency. As one of the first organisations to join Impact Hub Yerevan in 2016, 1A and its community of over 100,000 supporters have implemented more than 35 socio-economic projects in rural Armenia. Since shifting their focus to sustainable tourism in 2021, they have been on a mission to make Armenia the top travel destination in the South Caucasus through extraordinary travel experiences that support rural job creation and adhere to international sustainability standards.
There has long been scepticism around donating money to projects in Armenia, but 1A’s commitment to radical transparency has helped break this scepticism. Their online community has raised over $7 million since 2012 to support 35 local projects with long-lasting impact. After a decade in Armenia’s nonprofit sector, 1A is now focused on developing Armenia’s travel sector by incubating and accelerating extraordinary travel experiences that positively contribute to rural communities.
1A believes that Armenia has all the right ingredients to be a top travel destination: age-old traditions, untouched nature, and inviting people. 96% of visitors to Armenia already say they would recommend the country to others, but overall awareness about the country is low. Experiential travel, a form of tourism that immerses travellers in a destination and transforms them through cultural, nature-based, wellness, and adventure experiences, can unleash Armenia’s true potential. 1A has chosen to focus on developing Armenia’s experience travel economy specifically because of its benefits for local destinations: 66% of revenue from experience travel stays in-country, compared to 20-33% with other forms of tourism.
Since shifting its focus to sustainable travel experiences, 1A has successfully launched its for-purpose arm, 2492 Travel, the first and only sustainable travel brand and platform in Armenia, incubating or accelerating nearly 40 local travel experiences and winning the 2023 Regenerative Travel Impact Award in the Food & Agriculture category for their Wild Food Adventures product line. To date, 2492 Travel and the experiences 1A has worked on have only received 5/5 star ratings from international travellers in Armenia.
If you or someone you know is a culturally curious traveller going to Armenia who wants to dive deep into the fabric of the country and its culture, consider booking an experience with 2492 Travel. Through these efforts, ONEArmenia is not only promoting Armenia as a top travel destination but also ensuring that local people can make sustainable, livable incomes and are not forced to emigrate to find employment.
**All photos are by 2492 Travel. The experience featured in the photos is the Winemaker’s Table: Areni Cliffs Wild Food Adventure.**
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