Armenia and Georgia are planning to establish a joint working group to develop solutions in the field of tourism. This announcement was made by the head of the Armenian Tourism Federation, Mekhak Apresyan, in a conversation with journalists, as reported by "Armenpress."
According to Apresyan, this decision was made following a tourism business forum involving various organizations, which took place as part of the Armenian-Georgian cultural and culinary festival in Yerevan.
“During the forum, an agreement was reached to create a joint working group with representatives from both the public and private sectors to develop solutions to the issues raised. It is planned that the members of the joint working group will meet at the Armenian-Georgian border to discuss the possibilities of facilitating border crossing processes,” said Mekhak Apresyan.
The head of the Armenian Tourism Federation noted that during the business forum, representatives of the tourism industry jointly discussed issues related to the formation of Armenian-Georgian regional tourism packages.
The goal of these efforts, as Apresyan pointed out, is to create a more competitive, attractive, and presentable offer that will be widely promoted and marketed globally.
He noted that this year, in addition to creating joint packages, the forum also discussed issues related to increasing tourist visits between Armenia and Georgia, preserving and properly presenting the cultural heritage of both countries, and developing cultural heritage.
The importance of establishing quality standards and consistently improving tourist services was also emphasized. Special attention was given to easing and speeding up border crossing processes, which is a crucial factor in developing international tourism. Equally important is the development of professional training for guides and their licensing.
“In Armenia and Georgia, the licensing process has already started. For example, a tour guide must respect Armenian and Georgian historical and cultural heritage and not spread misinformation about it. We have presented this issue to our relevant authorities to consider it when developing standards,” said Apresyan.
Earlier, BMG reported that in May 2024, Armenia was visited by 167,049 tourists, which is 10,000 or 6.3% less than in May of the previous year. In the first five months of the current year, the number of tourists amounted to 766,794. The highest number of tourist visits in May 2024 was recorded from Russia (42%), Georgia (14%), and Iran (7%).
