From October 9 to 11, Dilijan will host Tourism Regional Forum (TRF) 2026, bringing together representatives from tourism, hospitality, investment, finance, culture, and urban development. Initiated by Green Rock, TRF will take place in Dilijan for the second time, following the launch of the initiative in 2024.
This year’s TRF agenda will be shaped around the theme “Destinations Built to Last,” focusing on the sustainable and long-term development of cities and tourism destinations. The forum will be held in a closed format, bringing together around 150 industry leaders and professionals. Over three days, Dilijan will become a platform for professional dialogue on tourism and hospitality, exploring not only the growth of visitor numbers but also how cities and destinations can create long-term value for residents, businesses, and the economy.
On October 10, the opening ceremony of TRF 2026 will take place at Monte Melkonian School. Tigran Gasparyan, Deputy Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia, will deliver welcoming remarks, while Katerina Danekina, CEO of Green Rock Management Group, will deliver the opening address titled “The City as a Living Economy.”
“To create destinations with long-term value, investment and infrastructure alone are not enough. They require a shared vision, strong partnerships, and responsible leadership. TRF 2026 is an opportunity to bring together the people shaping the future of tourism and hospitality, exchange experiences and perspectives, and discuss how destinations can develop while preserving their identity and creating long-term value for communities.
The theme ‘Destinations Built to Last’ reflects our belief that meaningful development is about creating lasting value for visitors, communities, and businesses — today and for years to come,” says Katerina Danekina.
One of the distinctive features of TRF 2026 is its focus on bringing professionals from different fields together on one platform. The forum’s agenda goes beyond traditional tourism discussions to include culture, urban environment, financing, investment, longevity, and wellbeing.
The discussion dedicated to culture and cultural infrastructure will feature Davinia Galea, Founder and CEO of ARC Research & Consultancy; Marie-Automne Peyregne, Member of the Municipal Council and Metropolitan Council of Nice; and internationally renowned German violinist Linus Roth, Founder and Artistic Director of Festival Ibiza Conciertos.
The participation of these speakers highlights one of TRF’s distinctive approaches: viewing culture not only as part of the tourism offering, but also as an important element of a city’s identity, development, and international recognition.
This approach is also aligned with Dilijan’s ongoing development. The Music Hall, planned within Green Rock’s multifunctional complex, is set to become a new key platform for the city’s cultural life. It will create opportunities to host internationally significant music and cultural events in Dilijan, strengthening the city’s potential as an attractive destination for cultural events and international cooperation.
The development of the Music Hall could also stimulate tourism to Dilijan, extend visitors’ length of stay, create new cultural tourism flows, and contribute to positioning Dilijan as an international cultural destination. In this way, it could become an important component not only of the multifunctional complex but also of the city’s wider development, creating new opportunities at the intersection of culture, tourism, and international cooperation.
Another key topic of the forum will be longevity and wellbeing as an emerging direction in tourism and hospitality. In a fireside conversation titled “Longevity as an Opportunity for a Destination,” Katerina Danekina and Christina Michael, Founder of the St. Moritz Longevity Forum, will discuss how longevity, health, and wellbeing are reshaping the way we think about travel and creating new opportunities for the destinations of the future.
Financing also plays an important role in the business agenda of tourism development. The discussion on this topic will feature Fabrizio Zarcone, Country Manager of the World Bank and IFC in Armenia; Arman Barkhudaryan, IFC’s representative in Armenia; Raimon Zakaria, Head of the EBRD Office in Armenia; and Armen Gasparyan, Director of Corporate Business at Ardshinbank.
The discussion will explore how financing can contribute to the development of tourism infrastructure, the implementation of new projects, and the long-term development and competitiveness of tourism destinations.
In this context, TRF 2026 becomes an initiative for Dilijan that brings different areas of development together on one platform, creating new opportunities for tourism, culture, investment, and international cooperation.
An important part of these changes is Green Rock’s multifunctional complex, which brings together Hyatt Regency Dilijan, PPLS Rooms Co-living, Villa3 Community Hub, Apicius Armenia international hospitality school, the future Art Park, and Music Hall. Together, these projects are shaping a complementary environment that creates new opportunities for guests, residents, the creative community, and businesses.
These developments are transforming not only the city’s infrastructure, but also the way Dilijan lives, welcomes visitors, and positions itself on the international tourism map.
Against this backdrop, TRF 2026 presents Dilijan as a city where the future of tourism is shaped not only through new infrastructure, but also through ideas, collaboration, and a long-term vision. From October 9 to 11, the city will welcome international experts and industry leaders, becoming a platform for the exchange of experience, knowledge, and new ideas.
Thus, “Destinations Built to Last” is not only the theme of TRF 2026 for Dilijan, but also an idea that reflects the city’s development trajectory: creating an environment capable of generating value not only today, but for years to come.
