By Eva Sahakyan

YEREVAN, August 10–The Armenian Diaspora has great potential for the development of tourism in Armenia, the Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian said in his interview to National Geographic Traveler. He mentioned that for the last ten years the number of tourists visiting Armenia has greatly increased and a large number of tourists are from countries where there is an Armenian diaspora community.

“It turns out that 95 percent of our compatriots have never been to Armenia, and taking into account the fact that their number twice exceeds the number of local residents, there is great potential for the development of tourism,” Sarkisian said.

According to him each year tourism increases by 20-30 percent. The greatest challenge was to be able to attract tourists from other countries, which resulted in the development of elitist, expensive tourism, thereby limiting the number of tourists.

The Prime Minister mentioned that today the goal is to increase the number of tourists. He mentioned that travel packages for middle class tourists must be developed, two-three star hotels must be constructed, and tour agencies must start working with foreign operators.

Yerevan Report