ArmInfo. The first 3 tourism clusters in Armenia will be created in Areni, Gyumri and Dilijan. This was stated by the Minister of Economy of Armenia Vahan Kerobyan, speaking at the opening of the World Tourism Investment Forum, held in Armenia in cooperation with the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization).
In general, over the next 10 years, as the minister further noted, the government plans to create 20 tourism clusters. In this context, he said that the state allocated 1 billion drams for the development of the tourism industry this year.
The minister also presented the latest indicators on tourist visits to Armenia. So, according to Kerobyan, in January-August 2023 the number of tourists vacationing in Armenia reached 1.59 million, which is 53% higher than a year ago. For comparison, he noted that in pre-Covid 2019, 1.6 million tourists were recorded in Armenia.
Within the framework of the forum, Minister Vahan Kerobyan also met with UNWTO Executive Director Natalia Bayona and Regional Director for Europe Alessandra Priante.
It should be noted that the forum was held in Yerevan from September 6 to 8 in a closed format with the participation of invited guests. In total, the number of participants reached 150. In addition, representatives of 15 embassies accredited in Armenia were invited to the Forum.
During the forum, participants discussed investment opportunities in the tourism industry in the world, changes in the field after the coronavirus pandemic, the impact of which was felt most of all by tourism; speakers from Europe, the USA, the UAE, etc. gave speeches. Particular attention was paid to the potential of Armenia in the field of tourism.
In addition, as previously stated, tours of Yerevan and Armenia were prepared for forum guests.
