Specialists are voicing alarm that most historical cultural-monuments on the territory of Armenia have been left unattended.

The more those monuments have visitors, the more they are likely to be covered in dirt, Samvel Karapetyan, a monument studies expert, told a news conference on Saturday.

“Seeing the dirt, tourists get surprised and disappointed. They see there is no connection between the person who created [the monument] and the one who is responsible for the its maintenance. We seem to have occupied areas temporarily, but even if that were the case, one shouldn’t leave traces behind himself,” he said.

Speaking further on the topic, the rector of the Armenian Institute for Tourism, Robert Minasyan, called for involving the youth in the monument protection and preservation efforts.

“Our country has declared tourism as a priority trend. But declaring is not enough. It is necessary to start with ourselves, first of all the young generation,” he added.

Minasyan said it is important to tour the historical sites in order to see and recognize the monuments. He proposed declaring a monument cleanness contest among the regions.


Arshak Zakaryan, the founder of the United Armenia group, said the tourists, whom he commonly takes to historical-cultural sites, very often start collecting waste around the monuments on their own.

He also raised the problem of waste bins, noting that the Armenian society is not in the habit of using them.