Armenia is a small country in the Transcaucasus, teeming with cultural monuments and natural attractions. It is potentially very attractive in terms of tourism. For a number of reasons, primarily due to the difficult economic situation and tense relations with some neighboring states, far fewer foreign guests visit Armenia than could be expected. Nevertheless, in recent years, there has been a positive trend, so there are certainly prospects for the development of tourism.
Instructions
Step 1
The main sights of Armenia
Armenia is rightfully called an "open-air museum". On its territory there are many monuments of the pre-Christian era, such as the Garni temple, the ruins of the ancient capitals of Armenia - Artashat, Armavir, as well as the cities of the ancient state of Urartu - Erebuni, Teishebaini. Among the monuments of the Christian period of history, first of all, it is necessary to highlight the Echmiadzin Cathedral, the Khor Virap monastery, in the vicinity of which a beautiful view of the sacred for Armenians Mount Ararat opens, as well as the monasteries of Geghard, Noravank, Sevanavank, etc.
Step 2
Armenia is also rich in natural attractions. Of these, priority attention should be paid to: Lake Sevan, Jermuk waterfall, volcanic formations in the valleys of the Hrazdan, Azat, Arpa rivers, Geghama and Vardenis mountain ranges.
Step 3
Latest data on tourism in Armenia and its prospects
Since 2009, the number of tourists from the CIS countries has noticeably decreased, but at the same time there has been an increase in purely foreign guests from other countries, first of all, neighboring Iran and Georgia. In addition, the flow of tourists from such distant countries as the USA and Canada has increased (among them there are often representatives of the Armenian diasporas), as well as from Japan. By the way, according to the calculations of the Armenian officials responsible for the development of tourism, it is the Japanese guests that are the most profitable in the financial sense, they spend the most on vacation.
Step 4
If in 2009 about 575,000 tourists visited Armenia, then in 2011 there were already about 760,000. And in the next year, 2012, the number of foreign guests was already about 850,000. The positive dynamics continues to the present. To consolidate it, new hotels, including luxury ones, are being built in the capital of the country, Yerevan, as well as in other resort centers, such as Tsakhnadzor and Jermuk.
Step 5
Among the factors that negatively affect the image of Armenia in terms of tourism development, foreign guests, as well as many residents of the country, cite high prices for a number of items (cost of accommodation, services of guides and taxi drivers), extortions of the traffic police (especially in relation to Iranian tourists traveling on cars). Also, guests complain about the insufficient level of service and the poor knowledge of the English language by many workers in the tourism sector. However, the Armenians are trying to eliminate the shortcomings and diversify the rest of tourists.