ArmInfo. It's time to think about development programs, not anti-crisis measures. RA Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan expressed a similar opinion in an interview with the First TV Channel of Armenia.
In particular, he noted that the direct consequences of the war and the coronavirus are already behind us. At the same time, the head of the economic department expressed confidence that when the statistical data on the results of January-March are published, Armenia will return to the zone of positive indicators.
Continuing the thought, he also drew attention to the fact that numerous areas have already been fully restored, naming the catering sector in this context. However, according to the Minister, the spheres closely related to tourism - the hotel business and travel companies-continue to be in a difficult situation. In this context, he said that the Armenian government will continue to provide assistance to all those who have not yet recovered from the coronacrisis.
At the same time, the minister assured that the economic situation in the country in January-February 2021 is better than it was recorded in the same period of 2019, calling this year the most successful in the history of independent Armenia. "We are moving in the direction of growth, and if these rates continue, we will reach double-digit growth rates, as I mentioned earlier," Kerobyan said.
It should be noted that according to the RA State Committee, in January-February 2021, a decrease in economic activity was registered by 6.7%. While in January-February 2019, the indicator of economic activity showed an increase of 6.5%.
In January - February of this year, the volume of services in the field of accommodation and catering decreased by 19.8%, amounting to 18.3 billion drams, but only in February an increase of 3% was registered to 9.3 billion drams.
In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the Armenian government has developed 25 anti-crisis programs to mitigate the economic and social consequences, including those related to the tourism sector. However, the subjects of this industry have repeatedly appealed to the authorities with a proposal to develop special measures and tax regimes for representatives of the tourism industry due to the fact that the anti-crisis measures of the government are not effective, and do not allow to recover from the shocks experienced.
Moreover, the Association of Hotels of Armenia has independently developed a package of anti-crisis measures, which it has repeatedly sent in an open letter to the government. But the authorities are still only making statements that the anti-crisis measures developed earlier will be continued for the tourism industry.