TOURISM BOOSTS IN ARMENIA

Panorama.am
18:24 05/02/2010

575.281 tourists visited Armenia in 2009, 3% more than the estimated
index for 2008, the head of tourism and territorial economic
development department of RA Ministry of Economy Mekhak Apresyan told
reporters today.

According to the forecasts of the World Tourism Organization, tourism
in the world fell by 4% worldwide, while 2008 recorded 2% growth,
he said.

Generally, 60% of tourists in Armenia are Diaspora representatives.

Mostly, the tourists arriving in Armenia are from the CIS, particularly
Russia and Georgia, EU states, Iran and the US.

As he said, majority of the Armenian tourists leave for European
countries. 526 thousand tourists from Armenia left for abroad in 2009.

This index shows 1.5-2% growth compared with 2008.

Apresyan said, this year 5% tourism growth is expected.