NUMBER OF TOURISTS VISITING ARMENIA TO INCREASE BY 20% AMOUNTING TO 380,000 BY END, 2006
By Ara Martirosian

AZG Armenian Daily
23/11/2006

The number of tourists, visiting Armenia per year, will increase by
18-20% and amount to 370,000-380,000 by the end, 2006, as compared
with the data of the same period in 2005, Ara Petrosian, RA deputy
minister of trade and economic development, said at a press conference.

He said that 272,000 tourists have visited the country for Jan-Sep,
2006, against 230,000 for the same period in 2005. Petrosian
noted the inflow of tourists within the next 4-5 years will grow by
20-25%. Meanwhile, according to Petrosian forecasts, 500,000 tourists
will visit Armenia in already 2-3 years. He said that activation
of the inner tourism for the last years is conditioned by several
factors, in particular, the development of tourism infrastructures,
increase of the level of services, rendered to the tourists. From
this viewpoint, Petrosian noted that if there were 2 hotels with
international standards in the country 7-8 years ago, this indicator
grew to 20, at present.

Besdies, he informed that 5 new hotel objects have opened in
Armenia within this year, in particular, in Yerevan, as well as in
such towns as Goris, Tsakhkadzor and Sevan. Moreover, Information
Center for Tourism functions in Dilijan since November 14 within
the framework of the USAID program "Competitive Armenian Private
Sector". A. Petrosian underlined that correct presentation of the
country’s tourist potential in the international market by means of
participation in tourist exhibitions, advertising also contributes
to the development of Armenia’s home tourism. He emphasized that
the American CNN is broadcasting the country’s tourism by means of
2 advertising spots since September 2006.