The Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan had a regular meeting with the members of the Armenian Restaurants Association, listened to the issues and proposals voiced by them, presented the work performed by the Ministry after their first meeting and discussed new opportunities for cooperation.

The Association members stressed the importance of securing jobs in the tourism sector and the necessity of state support in that respect.

The participants of the meeting discussed positive trends recently observed in the field of their activity. It was noted that the momentum of Armenia’s coming out of the “red” line of the epidemic has to be used and measures should be taken to attract tourists to our country. In this context, the work aimed at development of regional tourism was emphasized.

The Minister noted that the tourism-targeted state support is being implemented according to the procedure. He also informed that he regularly discusses tourism development issues with partners of various structures, including international organizations. As a result, interesting ideas and initiatives are outlined. A new project is being developed by the Tourism Committee, and the Minister urged the meeting participants to more actively cooperate with the Committee.

The Association members presented a number of proposals, one of which envisages inclusion of gastronomy component in the state-sponsored tourism events. The need to improve the service quality in the provinces was also touched upon. The Association expressed readiness to implement a pilot program in some provinces by organizing respective training courses.

“The objective of all my meetings is to jointly realize big and long-term ideas and programs, especially in the provinces”, Vahan Kerobyan said at the end of the meeting, adding that the Ministry is ready to discuss interesting proposals and promote their implementation.

Following the agreement, the Association will present a summary package of proposals for the Ministry to take into consideration within the framework of forthcoming actions envisaged for the sector’s improvement.