The Telegraph has specified Armenia as a country with tourist scams. In this publication, Armenia and Cyprus rank the 9th in the list of the worst countries in Europe for tourist scams. The scams surveyed included pickpocketing, paying a hidden tourist tax on arrival at a hotel, hire car excess costs, pushy street vendors, overcharging taxi drivers and street crime, including burglary. Armenia’s government does not spend less money advertising our country abroad, to the point, introducing Armenia as a safe country for tourists, but the international organization, with one publication, can throw the government’s years-long work into the water.
In the conversation with Aravot.am, Head of the Tourism Department of the Ministry of Economy, Mekhak Apresyan, does not agree with almost all items of scamming mentioned by The Telegraph regarding Armenia. As said by Apresyan, perhaps, one case of pickpocketing occurs in 5 years, and it is a rare phenomenon in our country.” The former Ambassador of France to Armenia has given the best rating about Armenia. On one occasion, he has said, before arriving in Armenia, I did not know what the situation is here, but now, I say with responsibility that Armenia is one of the safest countries in the world where a woman can walk across one end to the other end in Yerevan at the middle of the night on foot, and if someone says anything, it would be just a compliment,” said Apresyan.
As for the high prices of taxi services and car rental, Apresyan said that maybe the prices of some cars are high, but it is not a scam, “We are now working on tax specifications of taxi services and car rentals to have more favorable condition and a low objective price is suggested.” As for the pushy street vendors, Apresyan said that what is accustomed in Europe, where these vendors are approaching the tourists to offer a watch and other things, we do not have such a phenomenon, there are vendors in exceptional places, but presenting them to be pushy and give a rating to the country based on this, it is not right. “I do not also agree with their rating regarding the street crime. First of all, the tourists come to Armenia by a tour package and the tour operators are traveling with them on the bus, so the street crime can be excluded.”
Mr. Apresian recalled an incident when the British journalists who cooperate with the World Tourism Organization, had expressed their opinion about Armenia on television. “They told that any tourist has the feeling of a “golden moment”, which is the most impressive moment in any country. As presented by these British, they had this “golden moment” in the Vernissage when they were walking in the evening and the vendors were already collecting their goods on sale, and 1 or 2 vendors called them, the British thought that they are calling them to sell something, but they were surprised that the Armenian vendors were calling then just for hospitality, and they have shared bread with the Armenians, drank 2 bottles of vodka, and have mentioned that this is a unique phenomenon and they have not encountered anything like this in any country.”
Read also
To the question of Aravot.am of whether the ministry does not intend to formally respond The Telegraph, since, actually, the matter is about Armenia’s ranking, Apresyan said that they will discuss to understand whether it is worthy or not, or how to respond. In the conversation with Aravot.am, the incoming tourism operators of “Sky Tours” travel agency, Nelly Avagyan, told that she hears about the scams mentioned by The Telegraph for the first time and they have not heard such complaints from the tourists arrived in Armenia at least by their agency. “Maybe, some people will complain of the guide’s unpreparedness, or let’s say, the car was not in good shape, but generally, Armenia is a safe country for the tourism. The tourists have never complained of the theft, pickpocketing, and the street crime. They can even take a stroll at very late hour at night without having any problem. Some taxi drivers may charge 2000 drams instead of 1000 drams, but this cannot be a reason for the poor rating of the country as a whole. As for the pushy street vendors, I can bring an example from our experience, the vendors mentioned by them were approaching the tourists for hospitality reasons. They were suggesting to taste the products prepared by their own hands, hoping that on the way back, the tourist may buy it, but the tourists like this form of hospitality and they do not complain.”
Nelly BABAYAN
