Armenia welcomed a record 825,384 tourists from January to May 2026, a 19.3 percent increase over the 691,882 recorded during the same period in 2025, according to the Tourism Committee of the Economy Ministry.
May alone brought 199,541 visitors, the highest number of arrivals ever recorded for the month and a roughly 10 percent increase over the 181,436 who visited in May 2025.
The five-month total also surpasses the January-May pace of 2023, when Armenia recorded 806,004 arrivals en route to its all-time annual record of 2.33 million visitors, placing the country firmly on track to set a new annual high by year’s end.
Monthly arrivals in 2026 have exceeded their 2025 counterparts in every month so far: January saw 179,409 visitors (up from 139,482), February brought 121,285 (up from 117,372), March recorded 152,444 (up from 129,887), April reached 172,705 (up from 123,705), and May closed at 199,541 (up from 181,436).
The highest number of tourist arrivals during the January-May period came from Russia (328,486 individuals or 39.8%), followed by Georgia (120,093 individuals, 14.5%) and Iran (63,029 individuals, 7.6%). The top ten source countries also included Germany (12,995; 1.6%), Ukraine (12,500; 1.5%), China (12,346; 1.5%), France (10,928; 1.3%), the United States (10,910; 1.3%), Italy (9,531; 1.2%), and India (8,001; 1%), with other countries collectively accounting for 28.7 percent of total arrivals.
By border entry, Zvartnots International Airport continued to serve as the primary gateway for visitors, accounting for 62 percent of total arrivals, up from 60 percent during the same period in 2025. It was followed by Bagratashen (18%), Bavra (10%), Meghri (6%, up from 5%), Gyumri Airport (2%), Gogavan (1%), and Ayrum (1%).
By gender, men made up approximately 63 percent of all arrivals, while women accounted for 37 percent. In terms of age distribution, the largest group of visitors was working-age adults aged 35-44 at 25 percent, followed by 25-34 (21%), 45-54 (18%), 55-64 (13%), and 65 and older (8%), with younger age groups accounting for the remainder.
Armenia recorded 1.89 million arrivals in 2019, which fell sharply to 375,000 in 2020 due to the pandemic, before rebounding to 870,000 in 2021, 1.67 million in 2022, a record 2.33 million in 2023, 2.21 million in 2024, and 2.26 million in 2025. The head of the Tourism Committee, Lusine Gevorgyan, has stated that Armenia expects to welcome at least 3 million tourists annually within the next five years, a figure equivalent to the country’s population, with projections reaching 5 million within a decade.
