bahrainthismonth.com | NOVEMBER 2026 INTERVIEW 108 Destination Dilijan BTM’s Amna Syed attended the Tourism Regional Forum in Dilijan, where she spoke with Katerina Danekina, CEO of Green Rock Management Group, and Katya Bredikhina, Executive Director of the Green Rock Foundation, about their vision for the town’s future and opportunities to strengthen tourism and investment ties between Armenia and the Gulf. Katerina Danekina With Bahraini visits to Armenia more than doubling last year and visa-free entry available, what would you recommend for a first weekend in Dilijan? You land, and 90 minutes later, you are in a forest. You check in at our co-living space, PPLS Rooms, perhaps work at Villa 3 and have lunch at CEMI, where hospitality students prepare the food. If the orchestra is in town, I recommend attending a performance of Armenian classical music.Autumn or late spring would be the best time to visit. Both Green Rock Management Group and the Green Rock Foundation are led by women. How did this leadership structure develop? We recruited people who could deliver and, in Dilijan, most happened to be women. Today, they make up 70% of our management team. What is the Tourism Regional Forum, and why host it in a town of 15,000 people? Because the town itself makes the argument. The Forum explores how to build a lasting destination, and attendees can step outside and see that work taking shape. At the free economic zones panel, our Strategic Development Advisor, Vazgen Gevorkyan, explained how such zones can retain investment and accelerate development. He is right about the importance of speed. Free economic zones are one instrument, alongside municipal approvals and lender financing. We use all three. What opportunities does Dilijan offer Gulf investors? Gulf investors follow the same process as everyone else. Projects go to the town council, the municipality oversees design and lenders cofinance approved developments. Hyatt Regency Dilijan followed this process. The project will have 205 rooms and is expected to create over 400 jobs. We are preparing investment products for Gulf investors. A product is announced only once its agreement is signed. Who are Green Rock’s cultural initiatives primarily intended to serve? The town itself. 60 children from Dilijan participate in our ballet programme, with their mothers in the front row. Our September concert was free for residents, and the art park was a World Architecture Festival finalist. Bahraini travellers currently reach Yerevan through Sharjah, Doha or Dubai. What would it take to establish Bahrain as a stronger source market for Dilijan? Nothing yet, honestly, and I say that as the person responsible for changing the situation Air routes and visas are matters for the state, although Armenia has flexible visa policies for Bahraini citizens and GCC residents. At Green Rock, we want to give Bahraini residents a compelling reason to visit. We hope they come and experience the beauty of Dilijan for themselves.
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