ArmInfo. Tourism in Armenia will be focused on quality rather than quantity. Armenian Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan told reporters during a briefing on November 20 after a meeting of the Standing Parliamentary Committee.
He noted that the concept of the new tourism law, which was presented at the meeting, provides for high quality services in the tourism sector, which will be paid accordingly. "We do not want Armenia to become a very accessible country in the context of tourism, so that financially accessible services are provided that will ensure tourist flows. It is important for us to provide a high level of service. That is, so that there is not a "bistro", but a good restaurant where people will pay for quality services," Kerobyan explained.
Speaking about services, first of all, he pointed out the importance of having high-quality infrastructure, including roads, tourist spots, and facilities that must be properly presented and equipped. In this regard, the minister referred to the department's program to create 20 tourism clusters.
At the same time, he touched upon a number of provisions of the bill, which will also help improve the quality of service for tourists. In particular, the minister recalled that in order to protect consumer rights, the new law will establish certain requirements for companies engaged in tourism activities. The latter will be required to enter into contracts with tourists indicating financial guarantees so that in case of failure to fulfill their obligations, foreign citizens will not suffer losses.
Speaking about the quality of service in hotels, Kerobyan noted that the department delegated control in this segment to the Hotel Association, which recently became a member of the European Hotel Association, and now has the necessary tools and standards for control in this area.
According to the Committee on Tourism for 10 months of this year, Armenia was visited by 2.050 million tourists, which is 46.4% higher than a year ago. Traditionally, the lion's share falls on tourists from the Russian Federation (51% or 1.04 million), followed by Georgian tourists (10% or 211 thousand), 6% - tourists from Iran, 3%- from the USA and the share of tourists from France, Germany, India, Ukraine, China and Belarus 1% each.
It is predicted that by the end of 2023 the number of tourists will be 2.4 million people, which will be 25% higher than in 2015 - the best year in terms of tourist flow.
According to the Minister of Economy, on average, each tourist spends $1,200 in Armenia, of which about $110, or about 44 thousand drams, enters the state budget. Thus, as the minister emphasized, by the end of the current year, revenues of approximately 100 billion drams can be expected. Kerobyan noted that these data are based on the results of a survey of tourists leaving Armenia.
