YEREVAN, September 9. /ARKA/. The number of foreign tourists visiting Armenia in 2020 slashed to 375,216 from 1,894,377 in 2019, the National Statistical Committee said today.
According to it, 346,093 Armenians visited other countries as tourists in 2020, down from 1,867,888 in 2019. Domestic tourism data are not provided.
The National Statistical Committee said also the that these figures reflected only the data for January-March 2020, as well as for September, October and December, since from April to August the country was closed to foreigners due to coronavirus pandemic.
On January 11, the government of Armenia extended the coronavirus quarantine for another six months until July 11, 2021. The nationwide quarantine was first imposed on September 11, 2020 replacing the state of emergency, declared on March 16 to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Along with extending the quarantine, the government removed and softened some restrictions. Thus, persons who are not citizens of Armenia can enter the country also through land border crossings if they produce a negative PCR test for coronavirus taken no more than 72 hours before their arrival.
If the test is carried out at a border checkpoint the person is to self-isolate until a negative result is obtained. Previously, this requirement was imposed only at airports.
Also, restrictions on holding mass events have been canceled, including the restriction on the number of participants in public events (previously, 60 people were allowed to take part).