ArmInfo. Armenian Tsaghkadzor entered the top five of the popular ski resorts of the CIS. This is evidenced by the data of the TurStat analytical agency, which prepared the rating of the most popular resorts of the CIS countries for ski holidays for Russian tourists in the winter of 2018-2019. According to the agency, the top five most popular destinations for Russian tourists are Shymbulak in Kazakhstan, Gudauri in Georgia, Shahdag in Azerbaijan, Silichi in Belarus, Tsaghkadzor in Armenia.
According to TurStat, the tourist budget in Tsakhkadzor will be up to $ 80 per day. Belarusian Silichi offers the cheapest winter recreation.
The rating is based on the results of the analysis of tourist trips in the winter season-2018/19. To note, the statistics of the Russian Federal Security Service Border Guard for 2017 indicates that Russians have visited Armenia more often: according to the results of 2017, the number of trips of Russians to the country increased by 20% and reached 410 thousand people, according to the website of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia. Russia, along with Iran, is among the main drivers of the growth of the tourist flow to Armenia in 2017. According to official data, the y-o-y growth of tourist visits to Armenia was 18.7%. Russian tour operators confirm the growing interest in the direction due to the simplified passport regime. Citizens of Russia from February 23, 2017 visit Armenia on internal civil passports. However, such a loyal pass regime for Russians is valid only at the airports "Zvartnots" (Yerevan) and "Shirak" (Gyumri).