ArmInfo.Armenia is making tremendous effort to develop digital technologies, education, science and innovations, which will strengthen the tourist industry, Armenian President Vahagn Khachatryan stated at his meeting with a delegation headed by Mr Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Armenia's president highlighted the role of the country's tourist industry. Armenia's government considers it as one of the priorities of economic progress.
The sides exchanged views on ways of coping a number of challenges caused by the COVID pandemic, new guidelines for developing the tourist industry and broadening the cooperation agenda.
In his turn, Mr Pololikashvili stressed that Armenia's membership in the UNWTO Executive Council in 2021-2025 will raise the awareness of Armenia in the European region.
Armenia's Ministry of Economy plans to raise the share of tourist industry in the country's GDP up to 10- 12 per cent.
Last year, a total of 870,308 tourists visited Armenia - a 2.4-fold increase as compared with 2020 (against an 80.2% decline in 2020).
Specifically, 350,500 tourists came from Russia (a 2.5-fold increase), 91,100 from Iran (a 5-fold increase), 70,600 from Georgia (a 23.5% increase), 31,600 from the USA (a 5.4-fold increase), 22,300 from Ukraine (a 3.5-fold increase), 17,900 from India (a 6.2-fold increase), 14,300 from France (a 4.9-fold increase), 11,900 from Germany (a 5.7-fold increase), 7,500 from the Netherlands (a 3,600-fold increase), and 7,200 from Belarus (a 3.1-fold increase).
