Armenian Tourism Federation sees the need to increase government  expenditure in marketing

ArmInfo.The state should increase expenditure on marketing and advertising in the tourism sector. Chairman of the Armenian Tourism Federation Mekhak Apresyan  expressed a similar opinion during a press conference.

He explained that in 2019, about 1.9 million tourists visited  Armenia, which means that the tourism sector alone provided an income  of about $ 1.5 billion. According to Apresyan, in a rough estimate, $  300 million is sent to the state budget from this. <Can't we direct  at least 1% of this amount to the development of marketing policy in  the travel industry, which is even less than it is customary to spend  in the world? This will allow us to see the results much faster," he  said.

In this regard, the head of the Federation referred to a study by the  United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), according to which  one tourist from the point of view of marketing should spend $ 4-6.  "If we had about 2 million tourists, our expenses should have been  about $ 8-12 million. But we are not asking for that either, at least  allocate $ 3 million to make a revolution in this area," he said.

In addition, the head of the Federation stressed the importance of  the visit of a third person from an authoritative international  organization, in particular the UNWTO, to Armenia, which would make  it possible to testify about a safe environment in the country from  the point of view of the post-war situation. 

Apresyan noted that in this regard, it is also necessary to work in  diplomatic directions, to use the potential of the Diaspora, so that  in the end Armenia does not included on the list of countries not  recommended for tourist visits.