Tuesday, April 18 2017 20:20

ArmInfo. The number of  international tourist arrivals to Armenia increased in the first  quarter of 2017 by 18.2% to 599.3 thousand, which was mainly due to  the growth of visits by Iranian and Russian tourists - by 17.7% and  7.5% respectively. "It is followed by tourists from China and  Germany, and France tops the list of five leaders, but the number of  arrivals of citizens from these countries is significantly inferior  to the flow of Russian and Iranian tourists," the head of the State  Tourism Committee of the Ministry of Economic Development and  Investments of the Republic of Armenia Zarmine Zeytuntsyan informed  on April 18.

To stimulate tourism, she said, it takes time to conduct detailed  research. In this context, she noted that Armenia conducts similar  tours in Russia and Iran, however, experience shows that this market  requires more in-depth research. At the same time, according to  Zeytuntsyan, Armenia is not yet ready to receive Chinese and Japanese  tourists due to the language barrier and the state of  infrastructures. "The Russian market in this context is the closest  and most understandable for us, but in the long term the State  Committee intends to conduct research and develop contacts in the  direction of the countries of the Persian Gulf, Western Europe and  other countries with which Armenia has direct flights," she said.

According to the National Statistical Service of Armenia, in  January-December 2016, 1,259,657 tourists arrived to the republic,  with an annual growth by 5.7%. During the same period, 1,262,687  people left Armenia for tourism purposes, with annual growth by 6.3%.