BATHROOMS POSSIBLE OBSTACLE IN DEVELOPING TOURISM IN ARMENIA
Tert.am
16:29 ~U 05.02.10
Despite a drop of 4% in tourism around the world, the number of
tourists visiting Armenia has gone up by 3%.
Mekhak Apresyan, Head of Tourism and Regional Economic Development
at the RA Ministry of Economy, speaking with journalists today,
explained the rise by saying it was due to good PR and marketing,
with Armenia beginning to gain recognition as a tourist destination.
Supporting the rise in tourism is the number of international exhibits
and trade fairs on tourism that Armenia participates in, as well as
TV programs, ads, and films on tourism hot-spots in Armenia, which
are broadcast around the world.
Apresyan forecasts a 5% increase in tourism this year, saying that it
is tourists from the Commonwealth of Independent States and European
countries that are primarily interested in the country. However,
over the last few years, there’s been an increase in tourists from
Iran and Scandinavian countries, as well.
Futher, there was an increase of 2% in people from Armenia travelling
elsewhere for holidays. According to Apresyan, Armenians primarily
vacation in seaside countries.
The Armenian government forecasts that until 2020, 2.5-3 billion AMD
is needed to develop tourism in Armenia, 700 million of which will
come from the governement, while the rest from private companies.
Speaking about possible factors that might deter tourists, Apresyan
noted that bathrooms and roads, in particular, are in poor condition.