YEREVAN, JULY 24, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. There are
more than 70 hotels in Armenia. Several sanatoriums, motels,
camps and tourists' homes are also available. Head of the
Tourism and Territorial Development Department of RA Ministry of
Economy Mekhak Apresian stated at the July 24 press conference
that ten hotels and four tourists' homes are qualified in the
country.
The only 5 star hotel in Armenia is the Golden Palace.
There are several 4, 3 and 1 star hotels. All the qualified
hotels are located in the capital city. Two bids for
qualification have been submitted, including a bid from Gyumri.
According to M. Apresian, the qualification is done on a
voluntary basis.
As regards the price policy, M. Apresian noted that the
state cannot exert any influence on the price policy of the
private sector. The market has its say here: if the prices are
high, people do not use these services. It is possible to affect
the price policy only in the order and the cases envisaged by
the law on the protection of economic competition. In the
opinion of M. Apresian, the introduction of the system of
hotels' qualification is a serious mechanism for regulating
prices and exerting an indirect influence to ensure a favorable
atmosphere. This system has just been introduced and its results
will be seen in the coming years. M. Apresian said it will
contribute to investment attraction.