YEREVAN. – The coronavirus will hit the tourism sector in Armenia very hard. Chairman of the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia, economist Gagik Makaryan, said this during a meeting with journalists.
In his opinion, there will be a rather serious decline in this sector. "The number of tourists and students from Iran has already reduced considerably in Armenia," the economist emphasized, "and this trend will continue."
Makaryan noted that flights to other countries are being canceled, and the amount which Armenia would have received on the account of the tourism sector would not actually materialize.
According to the analyst, as a result, small and medium-sized businesses involved in the tourism sector will suffer greatly. "The fall of the coronavirus is predicted fall," the head of the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia explained. "That is to say, it turns out that this year is lost for us."
Makaryan, however, is confident that the Armenian authorities will be able to implement a flexible policy aimed at combating coronavirus and preventing its further spreading in the country, and this may allow for increased opportunities in the tourism sector. The analyst believes that this will not only attract tourists, especially from Russia, but will also enable Armenia’s residents to spend their tourism-related money in the homeland.