Today, the regular Cabinet meeting was held, chaired by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.

The Government established the content, procedure for presentation and maintenance and forms of information on tourism service providers registered in the electronic registry of persons providing tourism services. As noted by the Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan, it stems from the interests of tourists visiting the Republic of Armenia, as well as from the protection of the rights of entities engaged in tourism activities and the logic of establishing uniform rules of the game for them.

The Minister informed that a relevant website has been prepared, which is integrated into the overall system of the Tourism Committee of the Ministry of Economy. “All entities engaged in tourism activities will register and declare their activities through this website. Only those who report about it will have the right to engage in tourism activities, and this will be done completely digitally. In other words, there will be no contact between employees of state bodies and tourism entities until the moment when we or some other bodies have to go to verify whether the submitted documents are correct or not." The Minister recalled the previously adopted decision, which clarified what a hostel, motel, hotel is, and the requirements for them. Next, the Ministry will issue certificates with which these organizations will be able to work. In case of violations, administrative criminal liability is envisaged.

Nikol Pashinyan noted that it is about setting a new standard for the tourism industry, because tourism is already becoming an industry. The Prime Minister also reported that an absolute record for tourism was set in January 2026. The Prime Minister also noted that 2025 is the first year when the number of Armenian citizens returning to Armenia is about 8,600 more than the number of citizens departing from Armenia. Nikol Pashinyan presented several factors contributing to the growth of tourism flows to Armenia. “The first is the established peace, and in this regard, I hope that those foreign embassies that have constantly issued notices in previous years that their citizens should avoid going to border areas, Syunik region, these notices will be stopped,” the Prime Minister said and instructed Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to work with those ambassadors so that the latter do not continue the same practice by inertia. According to Nikol Pashinyan, economic development, as well as the country's safety in terms of internal security and crime, are among the factors: "In 2025, we had a certain decrease in crime, and I think these are additional factors that contribute to the growth of tourist flows."

The government made amendments to the procedure for compensation of social expenses. As noted by the Minister of Finance Vahe Hovhannisyan, last year amendments were made to the Tax Code, and the system for declaring the income of individuals was significantly simplified. Accordingly, it is proposed to bring the Government Decision regulating relations related to social expenses into line with the legislative amendments made, stipulating that within the framework of declaring the income of individuals, the right to compensation for social expenses arises if the individual has submitted to the tax authority, in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation, an annual income tax calculation certified by an electronic signature. “Prior to the above-mentioned amendment to the Tax Code, in order to benefit from social expenses, the declaring individual had to have submitted an annual income tax calculation, and the declaration could be submitted only after it was confirmed by an electronic signature. In other words, the previously operating approach has been maintained, which means that there is no tightening in terms of the procedure for using social expenses,” noted Vahe Hovhannisyan.

The Government adopted a decision that will ensure the proper use of the Armenian national anthem as a state symbol and establish legal clarity at all state and public levels. In particular, it makes the live performance of the anthem mandatory during state events under a new procedure.