Tourism Numbers: Armenia welcomed 1,041,598 foreign tourists in the first half of 2026, up 14.8% year-on-year, with 31.3 million overnight stays and an average stay of about 30 days. Hotel Standards: Armenia’s Hotel Association has been selected to assign star ratings using Hotelstars Union criteria, aiming for more transparent, international-quality classification over the next 10 years. World Bank TRIP Push: The Economy Ministry met World Bank officials on TRIP, a €120M plan to build tourism clusters across Goris, Areni, Jermuk, Yeghegis, Dvin, Gyumri and Dilijan (wine, wellness, adventure, culture and ecotourism). Areni Wine Tourism: The Tourism Committee discussed progress on the Areni Wine Cluster investment project, focused on boosting wine tourism and local infrastructure. Big Yerevan Investment: A $500M gaming, hospitality and entertainment complex is planned in Yerevan, expected to create around 1,000 jobs. Scam Alert: IDBank warned travelers about hotel booking scams that urge people to “urgently confirm” card details via fake payment pages. Safety for Visitors: Penang’s heritage-building inspections (after a beam collapse injured tourists) highlight the kind of structural checks Armenia’s visitors also benefit from.