Armenia currently capable of receiving up to 3 million tourists annually

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS. Chairperson of theState Tourism Committee of Armenia Zarmine Zeytuntsyan assesses the 21% growth in the sector in the 9 months as unprecedented. “According to the UNWTO, any country that records 9-12% growth is assessed as unprecedented. In developing countries stable growth reaches 4.4%. Based on the dynamics of the last year, we will complete the year with 20-21% growth and will probably cross the threshold of 1.5 million tourists”, ARMENPRESS reports Zeytuntsyan saying. She noted that the results are satisfactory but not enough, since according to various assessments Armenia is capable to receive up to 3 million tourists annually. She added that a tourist spends 700-800 USD in Armenia, and according to the statistics of 2016 tourism ensured 1 billion USD in Armenia budget.

1 million 172 thousand and 402 people visited Armenia in the 9 months of 2017, which is a 21% growth against the same period of 2016. The countries mainly responsible for the growth are Russia, Georgia, Iran, the USA and Ukraine.