Armenia sees 6.1% drop in tourist arrivals in H1 2024

YEREVAN, September 2. /ARKA/. Armenia experienced a 6.1% decrease in tourist arrivals in the first half of 2024, according to Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan.

"The decline in tourist numbers is mainly due to a 23.6% drop in visitors from Russia. However, we have seen an increase in tourists from India, Georgia, and Iran. Although we are trailing behind the figures of 2023, our numbers are still significantly higher compared to 2019," Hovhannisyan said during a meeting of the parliamentary committee on financial and budgetary issues.

According to the Ministry of Economy's report "Armenia: Economic Prospects" dated August 30, 2024, Armenia welcomed 946,162 tourists from January to June 2024, a 6.1% decrease compared to the first half of 2023. The drop is primarily attributed to the reduction in Russian tourists, who made up the largest share of the tourism flow (41.8% during the reporting period, compared to 51.5% a year earlier).

During the reporting period, nearly 395,700 tourists arrived from Russia, over 126,900 from Georgia (an increase of 10.2%), more than 69,250 from Iran (an increase of 18.3%), and almost 24,950 from India (a 2.1-fold increase).