YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 13, NOYAN TAPAN. At the February 13 sitting, the Armenian government approved the tourism development concept. The concept was developed by the USAID-financed Competetive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) program in cooperation with "Armenia 2020" project and "Economy and Values" research center. The current state of the tourism sector of Armenia, international experience, as well as the results of examination and analysis of problems and proposals presented by the Armenian Tourism Development Agency (ATDA) and the private sector were taken into account in developing this concept. The purpose of the tourism development concept is to define and assess the tendencies and prospects of tourism development in Armenia, establish the main goals of state policy in the tourism sector, assess challenges and obstacles and determine the tasks, directions and principles of state policy for the implemenation of these goals. The RA minister of trade and economic development Nerses Yeritsian told reporters after the sitting that the concept is aimed at not only increasing the number of tourists to Armenia but also at extending the tourism season in the country, ensuring an active flow of tourists throughout the year. According to the minister, the range of tourist services should be extended, which will result in a growth of revenues. N. Yeritsian said that during the development of the concept, Armenia was compared with other similar countries, based on which some long-term forecasts were made, with 2030 being established as deadline for their implementation. In particular, it is planned to increase the number of tourists to Armenia to 1.5 million in 2020 and to 3 million in 2030. Allocations to the sector are planned to grow from current 300-400 million dollars to 1.3-1.5 billion dollars in 2020 and to about 3 billion dollars in 2030. In the words of the minister, the major prerequisites for developing tourism in Armenia are historical and cultural values and nature. So special attention should be paid to cluster development of lodgings in rural areas.

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