YEREVAN. – In 2010, 684 thousand tourists visited Armenia. In 2011, this was 758 thousand, which is a 10.3-percent increase from the previous year. And in 2012, the number of tourists will exceed 800 thousand, Deputy Economy Minister Ara Petrosyan stated during a press conference on Friday.  

As per Petrosyan, hotel accommodation fees in Armenia are not more expensive than in the neighboring countries: Turkey, Georgia, Iran, and Azerbaijan. As case in point, rooms can be booked these days in Tsaghkadzor resort city for even AMD 5,000 (approx. US$ 12.95) per day; their service quality is not high, but it is similar to the hotel fees charged at Georgia’s Autonomous Republic of Adjara, where the service likewise is not high quality.