Decline in number of tourists and remittances in Armenia in 2024 due to Russia factor – Finance Ministry

YEREVAN, June 4. /ARKA/. Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan cited the Russian factor as the reason for the decline in the number of tourists and remittances in Armenia in 2024.

According to Armstat, the number of foreign tourists who visited Armenia in 2024 amounted to 2,208,179, decreasing by 4.7%.

“This was mainly due to a decrease in the number of tourists from Russia,” Hovhannisyan said in parliament on Wednesday during a discussion of the report on the implementation of the RA state budget for 2024.

According to him, the large influx of Russian citizens to Armenia in 2022-2023 was temporary.

The head of the Ministry of Finance also noted that the 34.8% decline in the inflow of non-commercial money transfers was largely negatively contributed to by a 52.8% decrease in transfers from Russia.

"These factors are consistently returning to their natural levels," Hovhannisyan said.

The Minister also reported that in 2024, exports to Armenia grew by 53%, but the export of goods of Armenian origin - by 18.6%, the growth without precious metals was about 2.3%.

According to the Ministry of Economy, the net inflow of cross-border transfers in favor of individuals in Armenia, received from abroad through the banking system of the Republic of Armenia, in January-December 2024 amounted to $ 1.51 billion, decreasing by 8.8% compared to the same period last year. In 2024, the largest number of money transfers in Armenia were received from two countries - Russia and the United States - which accounted for 77.3% of the total inflow. According to Armstat, Armenia's foreign trade turnover in 2024 exceeded $30 billion, an increase of 41.5% compared to 2023. At the same time, exports grew by 53.1%, amounting to $13.1 billion, and imports reached $17.1 billion with an increase of 33.8%. -0-