THE TENDENCY OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOURIST FLOWS TO THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA AND THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN THIS PROCESS

Abstract

The aim of the given article is to try to identify the sources of motivational resources (in particular, the Media) in the process of forming tourist flows to the Republic of Armenia (RA). The tourist potential of Armenia, despite its ancient culture and history, its originality and uniqueness, is not used fully. In the Soviet period, people were coming to Armenia for rest and treatment from all Union Republics. However, it is impossible to talk about the process of international tourism development both in Armenia and Soviet Union in general, as domestic tourism was particularly developed in the USSR. After gaining independence in 1990, the formation and development of tourism in independent Armenia was quite difficult due to the prevailing objective external factors. However, in the early 90s the first business tours began to be organized: first to India and Thailand and then to Middle Eastern destinations – to Syria and United Arab Emirates. Business trips were conducted only in one direction: from Armenia to the rest of the world, there was no feedback, since the media in the 90s had one main carrier – the tourist himself. The development of tourism in Armenia in all directions began in the late 90s and early 2000s. Later, another medium of information distribution was used – satellite channels, and after the 2000s – the Internet. In 2006, a number of activities were developed to promote and improve tourism activities in the RA and advertise the tourism potential of the republic. The concept of "thematic year" was introduced to provide the international market with thematic festivals as tourist products. The paper analyzes archival data in order to identify the role of the Media in the formation of the tourist flow to the RA and its further possible settlement. Data on information sources about Armenia serving as an incentive for visiting our country were examined and analyzed. As a result of the research, conclusions were drawn about the extremely important role of the Media in stimulating choosing the tourist destination by a potential traveler.