Armenia this week
Armenia Sees continued boost to tourism
Armenia expects to host 300,000 visitors this year, an official overseeing the tourism sector said earlier this month, continuing a strong trend that began 2001, when the number of tourists first reached 100,000. According to the country’s Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic Development Ara Petrosian, Armenia was visited by 30 percent more tourists in the first quarter of this year. Foreign tourism in Armenia, which was virtually non-existent just seven years ago, added an estimated $150 million to Armenia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year, capping a fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth in the sector.
Tourism growth also spurred the expansion and improvements in hotel infrastructure, renovation of cultural sites and resorts, and increased air traffic to and from Yerevan. A recent analysis published by the Groong Armenian News Network found that Armenia’s main international airport, Zvartnots (also currently under expansion and renovation) now handles over 125 flights a week. Western European destinations make up a growing share of these flights, increasing from 14 a week last year to 25 a week currently. Yerevan now has direct flights to about a dozen major European cities.
Diaspora Armenians continue to comprise the bulk of all visitors, estimated at 70 percent last year. Of all visitors, 30 percent came from former Soviet states, 28 - from countries of the European Union and 22 - from the United States. Domestic tourism also grew, with some 240,000 Armenian citizens (a 31 percent increase) vacationing at Armenia’s resorts.
A study commissioned by the Armenia 2020 Project, a non-government effort that studies alternative scenarios for Armenia’s development, and conducted by the McKinsey & Company, identified tourism as one of Armenia’s most promising economic sectors. According to the study estimates, should the government and business sector continue to invest in tourism-related programs, particularly in rural infrastructure, more than one million tourists would visit Armenia by 2020, contributing over $800 million to its economy annually.
The Armenian assembly of America
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