LOW QUALITY OF SERVICES HINDERS TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, JULY 22, NOYAN TAPAN. The development of tourism in Armenia
is mainly hindered by a low quality of services. According to the
rector of the Armenian Institute of Tourism Robert Minasian,
low-quality services are conditioned by the fact that most employees
of the sphere lack the necessary special education. In his opinion, in
order to solve this problem, the government should establish definite
rules to be applied in the tourism sphere and supervise their
fulfilment. R. Minasian said that the tourism-related legislation
field is not regulated. The current law on tourism has been in effect
since 1993 and, according to the rector, is of a declarative
character. According to R. Minasian, if not enough funds are allocated
for tourism development from the state budget, the tourist rent and
tourist tax must be introduced, which will allow to obtain additional
resources to be used for the formation of infrastructures. It was also
noted that adventure and medical tourism have prospects for
development in the country.