YEREVAN, JANUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is becoming more appealing for tourists especially in the winter season as the sector is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact, officials say.

Armenian Tourism Federation President Mekhak Apresyan told Armenpress that seemingly everything is starting all over again in the tourism sector after the pandemic, because tourism had stopped.

“The sector began to gradually recover after the coronavirus, and eventually we had a very good result, we surpassed even the 2019 figures with the total number of visits,” he said.

Apresyan said that all steps must be carried out simultaneously for the development of winter tourism in Armenia. He said that winter tourism infrastructures must be developed and improved, and Armenia’s tourism opportunities must be properly presented in the global market.

Although winter tourism in Armenia is steadily developing, officials continue to carry out marketing campaigns especially in the direction of countries that don’t have such a potential.

“Currently large-scale work is carried out in the UAE, especially in Dubai, in order to draw the attention of local tourists on Armenia in the winter season,” Anahit Voskanyan, the advisor to the president of the Tourism Committee, told Armenpress.

One Way Tour agency concurred that winter tourism is gradually developing in Armenia.

“Russia was leading in the list of countries where most tourists chose Armenia as a tourist destination, but in 2023 December the statistics changed towards Arab countries, such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others. One of the reasons of this change is the snow, because most of the tourists who’ve come from these countries are seeing snow for the first time here in Armenia,” One Way Tour marketing director Satenik Abrahamyan said.

Abrahamyan also noted that winter tourism infrastructures should be further developed across the country.

Gayane Gaboyan