ArmInfo. The tourism industry of Armenia presented its proposals regarding the necessary measures by the state to support tourism, in particular from the point of view of reducing risks in view of the current situation related to coronavirus.
In particular, according to the press service of the Ministry of Economy, representatives of the domestic tourism industry demand from the government interest-free loans and refinement of mechanisms that would be aimed at the needs of the most affected areas and those that are most difficult to recover from a temporary point of view. This was stated during a meeting of the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia Tigran Khachatryan with members of the working group created by representatives of the private sector of the tourism field.
According to the report, Khachatryan presented the steps of the government aimed at restoring the sector in the short and long term, which will contribute to maintaining and expanding the competitive advantages of Armenia. The Minister emphasized the importance of close cooperation with the private sector and the integrated implementation of work under the current conditions. He presented the participants with statistics on applications for participation in anti-crisis government packages received by representatives of the tourism industry, and the main reasons for their rejection. The Minister emphasized the importance of the government's switch from response programs to development programs. During the meeting, the interlocutors discussed further steps by the government aimed at stimulating domestic tourism. Representatives of the field expressed their willingness to make proposals for the development of this area. To recall, during the final press conference on the 100 facts about the new Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the need to fully load tourism infrastructures by stimulating domestic tourism.
According to experts of the RA Tourism Federation, the restoration of the main incomes of the tourism sector can be expected from April 2021. It should be noted that, according to the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia, 311,264 people visited Armenia in the Q1 (with a decline of 14.6% per annum), and 275 716 people left (with a y-o-y decline of 13.3%) .