Chairman of the Armenian Tourism Federation Mekhak Apresyan notes the internal and external reasons for the growth of tourist visits to our country.

According to the Tourism Committee, in January-November 2022, 1.54 million tourists arrived in Armenia. At the same time, for the first time since 2019, the indicators for the month were exceeded. 144,576 tourist visits were recorded in November 2022 alone, compared to 140,376 in the same month in 2019 (85,762 tourists arrived in the country in November 2021).

In an interview with Sputnik Armenia, Apresyan noted that most of these visits (47%) are due to the influx of tourists from Russia. Next, after Russia by a wide margin, are Georgia, Iran, the USA and Germany.

“We must not forget that against the backdrop of the crisis and mobilization in Ukraine, Armenia received two streams of visitors from Russia. Some came to temporarily settle here, and the other part are really tourists,” Apresyan said.

According to him, at present Armenia has significantly increased its competitive advantages. For example, in recent years, the HoReCa sector has improved (Hotel, Restaurant, Cafe - ed.), and hostels have also developed. Russians feel comfortable here, and besides, the ruble exchange rate is even more stable than in other countries. The specialist argues that such indicators could not be recorded without the good work of the public and private sectors. In addition, the awareness of Armenia has increased in the world.

At the same time, Apresyan urged not to weaken against the backdrop of high performance. He explained that the sphere is indeed on the path of recovery, however, growth was recorded solely due to individual visits.