Tourism is one of the most important sectors of the Armenian economy. Reforms and investments in this area have formed part of the infrastructure for at least 15 years. But to what extent is tourism in Armenia accessible and competitive in the international tourism market? Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan in January expressed the opinion that Armenia is not considered a country of tourism. He said “When you look at the statistics of tourist visits, you understand that you have high expectations inside. Tourists are not informed about Armenia”.

In 2016, according to the data, the number of tourists visiting Armenia amounted to about 1 million 260 thousand, which is only 68 thousand more than in 2015. from the number of tourists. According to World Bank surveys, the most attractive aspects of visiting Armenia are: cultural heritage, quality of services, hospitality, food and nature. The largest influx of tourists to Armenia comes from Russia, Iran and the USA. There are also tourists from Germany, France and Italy. Georgia, the UK, Ukraine and Canada are also among the top ten. Tourism development is a powerful incentive for Armenia to diversify and develop the country’s economy. Inbound tourism is the second largest export of minerals and metals in the export sector of Armenia. It also provides more than half of export services. That is, when leaving the country, foreign tourists bring with them not only goods purchased in Armenia, but also their impressions of the services purchased. In addition, tourists import foreign currency into the country, therefore, the more money they spend in Armenia, the more they contribute to the stability of the currency.

In 2016 The State Committee on Tourism was created in the autumn of the same year in the system of the Ministry of Economic Development and Investment, and in December of the same year the Department of Tourism Development Policy was dissolved. Zarmine Zeytuntsyan, the newly appointed head of the committee, was appointed, who had just announced that her committee plans to double the number of tourists visiting Armenia to 2.5 million over the next three years. According to the new Strategic Map developed by the Committee, local employees will make every effort to make tourism in the international market more recognizable and affordable. The task of the committee is clear. It is hard to imagine what it means to attract foreign tourists when, in 2016, compared to the budget for 2017, for the development of tourism, the Distribution was halved, reducing to 100 million drams (about 200,000 US dollars) instead of the previous 188 million drams, which is equivalent to just a few minutes broadcasting on an international broadcaster.

Since 2010, the average annual growth of inbound tourism amounted to about 9%. According to the World Tourism Organization, one tourist spends in Armenia an average of 17 days, spending about 770 dollars (370,000 drams). Most tourists arriving in Armenia are of Armenian origin. 2015 According to data, 40,000 people or 3.3% of employees were directly involved in tourism. They worked in hotels, travel agencies, airlines and travel agencies. And the total turnout was 147,000 people, or 12.2% of the employed.
Currently, there are more than 340 hotel facilities in the Republic of Armenia with 10,337 rooms and 20,597 rooms (hotel, motel, hotel type hotel, sanatorium, boarding house, other type of resort). 2010. compared with the data, this number increased by almost 2.5 times. The number of hotels will increase in the near future, providing another 500.

Tourism Competitiveness in 2015 according to the report, the state of tourism in Armenia was recognized as good in terms of sanitary conditions, health and safety. There has been a significant improvement in the service sector. In particular, the number of hotels and ATMs accepting Visa cards has increased. But according to the same report, Armenia is lagging behind in access to roads and railways. Tourists also complain about the lack and / or poor condition of the bathrooms, the presence of garbage and the quality of the natural environment. Perhaps this may be the reason that Armenia in this report, unlike in 2013, According to the report, positions fell by 10 places, taking 89th place among 141 countries. Of the neighboring countries, Georgia and Azerbaijan occupy 71st and 84th places, respectively. Compared to the previous report, Georgia also lost 5 points, and Azerbaijan – 6 points. Tourism development is a powerful incentive for Armenia to diversify and develop the country’s economy. Inbound tourism is the second largest after minerals and metals in the export sector of Armenia.