Serzh Sargsyan: Visa-free regime with Iran gave a powerful stimulus  to the growth of the number of Iranian tourists to Armenia

ArmInfo.The visa-free regime introduced between Armenia and Iran gave a powerful stimulus to the growth of the number of Iranian tourists in Armenia. This was stated by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in an interview with the leading Iranian newspaper "Sharh".

According to the President of the Republic, the Armenian side attaches importance to the abolition of the visa regime between the countries, which has a positive impact on the expansion of business ties, stimulation of economic and investment relations, and the growth of the tourist flow. "In today's world, bridges need to be built instead of barriers," Iranian President Hasan Rukhani said. 

, Serzh Sargsyan, quoted his colleague as saying. "In my opinion, the decision to abolish the visa regime is a new bridge of friendship between the peoples of our countries," he said.As stated by Serzh Sargsyan, according to observations, after the abolition of the visa regime, a sharp increase in the number of Iranian tourists was registered. At this stage, according to the head of the Armenian state, tourism products are formed in Armenia, corresponding to the preferences of the Iranian tourist. At the same time, as the president noted, Armenia is consistently developing the sphere. 

"We are making serious efforts to increase the attractiveness of our country for tourists," Sargsyan said. In particular, steps are being taken to create additional infrastructures, improve the quality of tourist services, and present the rich historical and cultural heritage of the Armenian nation. Work is also being done to increase international flights to Armenia. "Armenia has a representative culture, a high level of security, its people are hardworking and hospitable, which is included in the list of competitive advantages of the republic and in tourism," the head of state said.It should be noted that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will leave for a working visit to Tehran on August 5 to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the re- elected Iranian President Hassan Ruhani.

The number of visits of foreign citizens to Armenia in the first half of this year exceeded 1.3 million, which is more than the annual indicator by 24.3%. In TOP-3, the number of entries to Armenia included citizens of Russia, Georgia and Iran. At the same time, during the reporting period the number of visits by Russian citizens increased by 33.7% to 241 thousand. The second place was strengthened for the citizens of Georgia, the number of visits exceeded 151 thousand, with an increase of 11% per annum.

 And Iran is topping the top three with 89.8 thousand visits, which is 27.4% more than last year. In particular, in the TOP-10 entered also the entrances of US citizens (17.5 thousand), Ukraine (12.7 thousand), the Philippines (10.9 thousand), Germany (7.8 thousand), France (7.6 thousand), India (4.3 thousand .) And Poland (4.3 thousand). As the target markets in terms of attracting tourists, the State Committee considers the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the countries of the Persian Gulf and Western Europe, with which Armenia has direct flights. According to the government program until 2020, Armenia intends to annually visit about 3 million tourists.