Armenia is experiencing a tourism boom that will continue and expand, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.
“In April 2026, the number of tourists increased by 39% compared with April last year. Can you imagine that? From January to April, there was a 34% increase compared with the same period last year,” he said during a government meeting, according to Panorama.am.
Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan said that while tourists arriving from Russia accounted for 52% during the same period in 2023, the figure stands at 36% this year, compared with 42% in 2024.
Papoyan noted that truck drivers crossing Armenia’s border are also counted as tourists, as is the case worldwide. Pashinyan stated that the number of tourists from Russia is increasing, although their overall share is declining.
“The share is decreasing, but the absolute number is growing. We are very happy to welcome tourists arriving from all countries,” the prime minister said, according to 1lurer.am.
“Last year we also had 36% in Russia’s case, but while the figure was 183,700 last year, this year it has already reached 245,178. In other words, we maintained the same 36%, but the total flow increased,” the minister said.
Pashinyan added that many of his Russian followers on Instagram and TikTok had promised in comments that they would visit Armenia this year.
“It turns out they are keeping their promise, for which I am, of course, grateful,” Pashinyan said.
Papoyan also noted increases in the number of tourists arriving from India, Italy, France, the U.S., China, Germany, Ukraine, Iran and Georgia, meaning the geography of arrivals has expanded.
“I am pleased to note that there is growth in tourist numbers from Georgia. It is very encouraging, and I hope that by the end of the year we will surpass the 2023 results for Russian tourists. These figures mean that right now we have a tourism boom, and secondly, that boom will continue and grow because all prerequisites exist for it. This is very good news, and I hope representatives of the tourism sector, respected businesspeople, including those in the regions, will pay close attention to these statistics,” the prime minister said.
He added that these are also financial flows, and businesses should make efforts to secure their fair share of them.
“For comparison, regarding Georgia: in 2019 there were about 69,000 visitors, last year around 76,000, and this year already more than 93,000,” Papoyan said.
Education, Science, Culture and Sports Minister Zhanna Andreasyan said the increase in tourism is also clearly reflected in statistics on visits to cultural monuments.
“In these first days of May and at the end of April, excluding organized tours for which travel companies buy tickets separately, we had 2,000-3,000 visits to Garni with individual tickets alone. Since an electronic ticketing system is now operating, we can monitor figures daily, and I can confirm that the level of visits has significantly increased and is clearly reflected in attendance at our cultural sites,” the minister said.
