The recently-published Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2015 Ranking has placed Armenia in the 89th spot globally.

Published once every two years, the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index, which covers a record 141 economies this year, aims to provide a comprehensive strategic tool for measuring the “the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the Travel & Tourism sector, which in turn, contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country.”

The country was ranked the 79th among 140 states in 2013, and the 90th out of 139 nations back in 2011.

Armenia's international tourism expenditures amount to $502 million, while international tourism receipts total $458 million. The figures are taken from 2013 or most recent available data.

International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport.International tourism receipts, on the other hand, are expenditures by international inbound visitors, including payments to national carriers for international transport.

According to the report, T&T industry makes up 2.0% of the country's total GDP, industry share in total employment comes close to 1.8%.

In the study, Turkey and Russia are placed in the 44th and 45th spots, respectively, followed by Georgia in the 71st position, Azerbaijan in the 84th and Iran in the 97th.