ArmInfo. In Armenia, the growth rate of economic activity over the past 2 months has exceeded expectations. This growth can be attributed to the construction sector, services and tourism. Armen Nurbekyan, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia, made this statement during a press conference on August 5, while responding to a question about whether the growth in external demand was solely due to tourism or if there were other contributing factors.
He mentioned that in the period from 2022-23, the country's economic growth was mainly supported by external demand. However, despite a further sharp decline, the economy avoided such a drastic outcome. According to Nurbekyan, this was made possible due to domestic demand, which was able to compensate for external "losses". "Now, we are seeing an increase in external demand again," the Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank noted. Regarding tourism, Nurbekyan pointed out that there was a significant decrease in tourist arrivals at the beginning of the year, but a sharp increase was already recorded in May and June.
He noted that this is due to both a partial recovery in tourist flow from Russia and the diversification of certain destinations. "I don't believe that this can be solely attributed to the Iran-Israel conflict, as a certain number of people from Iran arrived in Armenia for a short period. However, in the macro context, this is not a decisive factor," he concluded. Meanwhile, according to the RA Statistical Committee, 907,135 tourists visited Armenia in January-June, which is 4.1% lower than the previous year's figure.
