YEREVAN. – This year the number of tourists in Armenia is expected to increase by 5 percent.

Mekhak Apresyan, Head of the Tourism Department at the Ministry of Economy of Armenia, noted the aforesaid at a press conference on Friday.

“Even in April, when here was a drop in the number of tourists coming to Armenia, there were tourists who had gone to Artsakh [i.e. Nagorno-Karabakh],” stated Apresyan. “According to our predictions, the number of tourists coming to Armenia this year will grow by five percent.”

As per the official, the number of tourists—including a large number of Iranians—coming to Armenia has increased by more than eight percent, in the first quarter of 2016.

“The number of tourists coming from Russia had reduced last year,” he added. “But their number began to grow in the first three months of this year.”

In Mekhak Apresyan’s words, Armenia offers tourists a variety of recreational services.