Tourism industry in Armenia shows good performance

Despite the pessimism of the analysts about tourism industry because of the global financial crisis, tourism figures in Armenia are encouraging.

According to information provided by the rector of the Armenian Tourism Institute and the head of the Armenian Travel Agencies Association, according to official statistics, hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists visited Armenia in 2010.

Official data show a very significant increase in tourist flow, which is amounted to more than 600,000 foreign tourists last year. However, analysts do not share the optimism of official statistics, which calculates the number of tourists from the definition that a tourist is a person who has spent in the country at least 24 hours and no more than a year and has not received salary from the state.

According to Mr. Minasyan, the actual number of foreign tourists visiting Armenia individually or with groups is much smaller than indicated in official statistics and does not reflect the real picture of the tourist flow. According to the World Tourism Organization, a tourist is a person who enjoys the full travel packages that includes hotel accommodation, travel and food expenses. Analysts of the tourist market say that the official figures include all persons entering the country, including migrant workers from other countries, as well as temporary migrants working outside Armenia and visiting the country during the holidays.

Nevertheless, the head of the Travel Agencies Association not lose hope for successful tourist future of Armenia since according to the data the flow of tourists into the country increased by 15% over the past year. Outbound tourism in Armenia in 2010 also increased by 19%, which creates optimist forecasts.

According to Mr. Minasyan, Armenian tourism is experiencing a significant lack of advertising companies, but the tourist organization will do everything to stimulate the interest of foreign holidaymakers to Armenia as an attractive tourist destination.