YEREVAN, JULY 24, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. There are more than 70 hotels in Armenia. Several sanatoriums, motels, camps and tourists' homes are also available. Head of the Tourism and Territorial Development Department of RA Ministry of Economy Mekhak Apresian stated at the July 24 press conference that ten hotels and four tourists' homes are qualified in the country. The only 5 star hotel in Armenia is the Golden Palace. There are several 4, 3 and 1 star hotels. All the qualified hotels are located in the capital city. Two bids for qualification have been submitted, including a bid from Gyumri. According to M. Apresian, the qualification is done on a voluntary basis. As regards the price policy, M. Apresian noted that the state cannot exert any influence on the price policy of the private sector. The market has its say here: if the prices are high, people do not use these services. It is possible to affect the price policy only in the order and the cases envisaged by the law on the protection of economic competition. In the opinion of M. Apresian, the introduction of the system of hotels' qualification is a serious mechanism for regulating prices and exerting an indirect influence to ensure a favorable atmosphere. This system has just been introduced and its results will be seen in the coming years. M. Apresian said it will contribute to investment attraction.

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