Where do Armenians spend their vacations?

PanARMENIAN.Net - Thus, manager at Astghadzor agency Syuzanna Hovsepyan noted the rising popularity of Crete and Barcelona.

“With two airlines operating the flights, the prices for tickets were rather affordable this year,” she said, adding that many Armenian tourists headed for Egypt, despite the hot weather.

Last year, Armenians preferred Bulgaria, Cyprus and Dubai, according to her.

The overwhelming majority give preference to the sea. Affordability comes first, followed by the location of the hotel and sand beach.

As to winter vacation, sea and sun are favorites again, with Dubai and Egypt as main destinations.

Gold Travel agency clients chose Malta and Bahamas. Some preferred Sri Lanka and Jordan for affordable prices. In winter, people traveled to Dubai, Mauritius and Thailand.

Joy Tour director Lilit Alexanyan said their clients preferred to go to Turkey and Egypt. The agency is developing tours to Sri Lanka and Thailand for the winter

As for Georgia, the most popular destination, about 486,500 tourists from Armenia visited the country in the first half of 2014, which is 5% more than during the same period in 2013. South Caucasus Railway said 44,660 passengers have been transported by Yerevan-Batumi-Yerevan train since June 15.

On the whole, 474.989 people left Armenia as tourists in the first six months of 2014, which is 14.8% less against the last year’s index. 495.967 people visited Armenia (17.3% less than during the same period in 2013). The majority of tourists arrive from Russia (about 44%), Georgia (28%), European Union countries (12-14%) and Iran (7%).