At this moment, it would be hard to give an evaluation of how many tour operators, travel agents and hotel facilities there are in Armenia, according to types. This is what President of the Armenian Tourism Federation Mekhak Apresyan told reporters today.

“If Armenia had a reliable administrative register, the required types of activity were licensed and tourist transport was at least record-registered, the country could maintain a competitive environment, improve the business and investment climates and strengthen the foundations for sustainable development,” he said.

Asked why this hadn’t been done, Apresyan said it was linked to mandatory record-registration and even licensing. “This was considered before the revolution in Armenia. The government understood that the time had come to introduce licensing, and I supported this. The opinions of government officials varied. The government held a discussion with the representatives of the field who are not only ready, but also want to take on the burden. After the revolution, the process was prolonged. Now the government accepts the fact that it has to set specific criteria and introduce an administrative register. Let’s hope we see this in the near future,” Apresyan said.