Armenia to introduce cashback mechanism in tourism industry 

ArmInfo. The Ministry of Economy of Armenia has developed a program to assist legal entities and individual entrepreneurs operating in the tourism sector through the introduction of a mechanism. The project is posted on the unified portal of legal acts.

As stated in the explanation to the document, in the current  difficult economic conditions, tourism operators are facing various difficulties caused by the increase in the tax burden, general inflation, doubling of the turnover tax, as well as the increase in the exchange rate of the Armenian dram, as a result of which the cost of tourist packages has increased by about 50%. In addition, despite the fact that entities offering inbound tourism packages are exempt from VAT, the lack of the possibility of tax deduction does not fully ensure the implementation of a fair tax policy.

All this, the Ministry of Economy noted, has negatively affected the competitiveness of the RA tourism product, which is confirmed by statistical data. As a result, the number of inbound tourist visits to Armenia is decreasing. According to statistics, the number of inbound tourist visits in 2023 was more than 2.3 million, while in 2024, compared with 2023, the number decreased to about 2.2 million. The number of inbound tourist visits recorded in 2024 was 435,775 tourists in January-March, while in 2025, it decreased by about 12.08% over the same period to 383,127 tourists.

, the document says.  

The refund mechanism in the tourism sector will be implemented subject to the following conditions: - If tourists have purchased services worth at least 30,000 AMD (including VAT) from a given tourism service provider within one calendar day, or the total cost of services purchased by tourists from another service provider is at least 150,000 AMD, or if the tourist has purchased a tourism package worth at least 200,000 AMD. - If the tourist has spent at least five nights in the Republic of Armenia. - If the tourist has purchased the  services at least 10 days before leaving the Republic of Armenia. - Assistance will not be provided if the tourist has purchased a service for which the compensation amount provided under this program is less than 15,000 AMD. - The total amount of amounts to be reimbursed to the tourist may not exceed 20,000 AMD if he/she has purchased individual services, and may not exceed 30,000 AMD if the  services were purchased as part of a tourism package.

According to the calculations of the Ministry of Economy, based on the number of tourists in 2023-2024, about 1.4 billion drams will be required annually from the state budget for cashback, which is a maximum of 3.5% of the income received from package tourists.