Garik Paytyan and Esther Zakaryan, who moved from Yerevan to Norashen village in Tavush, decided to prove that rural life can be not only peaceful but also creative and full of opportunities for success. Graduates of Yerevan State University, Garik and Esther returned to Garik’s ancestral village, Norashen, after their marriage with the goal of starting their own business. Although the initial difficulties were numerous, their willpower and persistence helped them create a unique destination: Zovak Guest House.
The idea of founding a guest house occurred to Garik back in 2016, when he was organizing specialized hiking tours in Tavush, and a problem arose regarding overnight stays. By 2018, the guest house began welcoming tourists, and in 2021, the young couple established an adjacent Gastro-Yard, allowing their guests to taste traditional Tavush dishes.
Zovak Guest House is a beneficiary of the "Rural Tourism Development" program by ACBA Federation and NABU Armenia. With the provided grant funds, the young entrepreneurs were able to bring the Gastro-Yard to its final form and operate through all four seasons.
"Zovak is my ancestral home; we started welcoming guests here back in 2018 without making any investments. When I decided to renovate the guest room, I didn’t have the intended funds. I learned how to renovate it myself. Later, we had a problem serving tourists throughout all the seasons, and when the ACBA Federation and NABU Armenia announced a competition for the development of Gastro-Yards, we applied and succeeded; now we are able to overcome seasonality. Any support is not only important for the business but also "propels it forward" for a certain period. I want to be an example for many young people on how it is possible to start from scratch in a village and succeed," says Garik Paytyan, founder of Zovak Guest House.
Zovak Guest House is located in Norashen village in Tavush region (Tel. +374-95-56-45-28).
The ACBA Federation is the major shareholder of ACBA Bank, holding over 75% of its shares. Through this strategic position, the Federation actively contributes to the development of agriculture, the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in rural areas, the development of communities, the revitalization of local economies, and the improvement of livelihoods for individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activities across Armenia’s rural communities.
