ARMENIA RECEIVES 260.000 TOURISTS ANNUALLY
AZG | YEREVAN–These six months 108.517 people visited Armenia of which only
20.474 people stayed at the hotels. The rest of them preferred staying at
their friends and relatives or to rent apartments. The tourism agencies are
really concerned about this statistics. According to the State Statistic
Service, 32.7% of the tourists were from the CIS countries, 28% from the EU
and 19,5% from the U.S.
Yesterday was International Day of Tourism. Armenian tourism agencies
represented the current situation in the Armenian market of tourism. “The
Union of Armenian Tourism Operators” was created in early 2005. This
organization unites 13 tourist agencies. According to the specialist, some
progress has been fixed in the sphere recently, but there is still much to
do. “We need to enlarge the number of specialists of the sphere. We need
guides and administrators that keep in line with the European standards,”
Karen Andreasian, head of “First Travel” agency said.
He added that large-scale investments are needed to make in the sphere,
including both the capital and the regions.
According to the research of international organizations, Armenia is quite
capable to receive 500.000 tourists annually, in case relevant substructures
are created. Today 260.000 tourists visit Armenia every year.
By Tamar Minasian