Head of the tourism and territorial economic development department at the RA Ministry of Economy Mekhak Apresyan said that the number of tourists who visited Armenia in January-September 2010 increased by 15.6%.

488,000 tourists visited the country over the nine months of 2010, Apresyan told a press conference.

“Intensification is observed also in the global tourism. 7% growth was recorded in January-August 2010,” he said.

Besides, Apresyan noted that 19% growth was recorded in outgoing tourism over the same period, totaling 474,000 people.

He added that the geography of outgoing tourism is expanding. Specifically, visits to Turkey have decreased both as a result of agitation by politicians and youth representatives and availability of alternative tourism destinations.