Despite the budget cut, the government plans to develop tourism clusters across nine regions of the country with support from the World Bank. Tourist inflows to Armenia dropped by 7% in the first nine months of 2024.
Armenia's Minister of Economy, Gevorg Papoyan, announced a reduction in state funding for the tourism sector in 2025 to 800 million drams (about $2 million). This announcement was made on November 4 during parliamentary hearings on the 2025 state budget proposal.
The sector’s funding has shown notable fluctuations: from around $515,000 (200 million drams) annually before 2023, the budget rose to $2.6 million (1 billion drams) in 2023 and reached $3.9 million (1.5 billion drams) in 2024.
According to the minister, the $2 million allocation is the minimum necessary to carry out planned programs and initiatives. Papoyan noted that the funding level could be revisited following the approval of a new tourism development strategy, which is currently under active discussion.
Earlier reports by BMG highlighted a significant element of the sector's growth strategy: a five-year program implemented in partnership with the World Bank. A $100 million loan will support the creation of ten tourism clusters in key regions, including Yeghesis, Jermuk, Dvin, Dilijan, Sevan, Areni, Gyumri, Goris, and Aparan.
Statistics from the Tourism Committee show that Armenia hosted 1.72 million tourists from January to September 2024, marking a 7% decline compared to the same period last year.
