During these days of civil disobedience and protest actions, government officials often insisted that the number of tourists has decreased, because once tourists land and see that there are protests and blocked streets they immediately return back.
Economist Artak Manukyan believes that although tourists’ motivation to travel to any country is the security, thanks to international media, the possible negative consequences of the situation have been mitigated in our country.
“We must understand that the new government and the new Armenia are more dominant and create greater opportunities than the same tourism”, this opinion was expressed by the economist during a press conference.
According to him, the GDP of our country is 10.5 billion a year, including the black economy: “And, according to the National Statistical Service methodology, the black economy is 22 percent, this is the amount that is not taxed. According to other estimates, the black economy is 35-40 percent, up to 4 billion dollars”. In other words, according to the economist, this is a sum of money the new government can take out of the black economy.
Manukyan said that the expectations in the economy are more positive. According to Manukyan, international experience shows that in countries where corruption or black economy is high, as a rule, foreign investment is low. And the country that gets rid of these redundancies records an increase in terms of foreign investments. “This is a velvet transformation for our economy”, said the economist.
And to make it a reality, the interim government must have the political will to eliminate or reduce the black economy, to create equal competitive conditions in the economy, to bring everyone to the field of law, which the ruling party was unable to do.
Regarding the change in the gas price, Manukyan said that a serious audit should first be made to understand the possible change in the tariff. However, the economist believes that there is a possibility to reduce gas tariff. The basis for such an opinion is the result of the study of the company’s material, amortization and other costs.
Nelly BABAYAN
