After studying abroad for seven years and finally returning to Armenia, I wanted to make this summer a special one by staying in my homeland and contributing to local tourism. Initially, a vacation in Armenia seemed like a fantastic idea, as Armenia is rich in natural resources, beautiful scenery, deep forests, breathtaking mountains and delicious food. As Armenia has an abundance of tourism and hospitality businesses and hotels, I thought I would easily find some convenient deals that would ensure a great time for my family in the heart of our beautiful and beloved homeland.
Despite the abundance of supply, however, finding a deal wasn’t as easy as it seemed. After hours of searching numerous platforms and making dozens of calls to find something nice and affordable in Armenia, I found my fingers replacing the keyword “Armenia” in the search bar with “Georgia.” It was both unexpected and saddening to see that, for the price of one night at an average hotel in Armenia (with only breakfast included), I could go all the way to Georgia by bus, stay there for six nights with an all-inclusive package covering three meals, and return to Armenia.
For example, in one offer I came across on Facebook, seven nights in Georgia with an all-inclusive package and transportation cost 55,000 AMD (140 USD). In contrast, according to an article by 168.am, one night at the Tsovinar Hotel in Sevan costs 50-53,000 AMD (128-136 USD), with only breakfast included, and it costs 40,000 AMD (103 USD) to stay at the Garden Inn Resort in Sevan without breakfast.
In his interview with 168.am, the President of the Armenian Tourism Federation Mekhak Apresyan commented on inflationary trends in the inbound and domestic tourism sector in Armenia: “We have general inflation, not only in tourism and not just in Armenia.” He noted the nearly 10% general inflation, which is also visible in different sectors such as transportation, public services and hotels. “In the case of inbound tourism, the devaluation of the dram against foreign currency was added to it, and it turns out that inbound tour packages and services in foreign currency have become more expensive by about 50%,” he said.
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However, the founder of the Union of Tourist Service Providers of Armenia Bagrat Movsisyan argues that inflation in tourism is the result of short-term profit-seeking and the short-sighted policies of many businessmen in Armenia, as well as the shortage of reforms and the lack of sufficient attention to the sector by the government.
In a conversation with Oragir.News, some Gyumri residents mentioned that they do not go on vacation, while others said they prefer seaside vacations, which are relatively cheaper than traveling to picturesque places in Armenia. “People prefer affordable options and try to organize their vacation in a way that suits their pockets,” said Gor Torosyan, director of the “Gyumri Tour” travel agency.
According to Torosyan, residents of Gyumri and other regions of Armenia plan their summer vacations outside of Armenia — firstly, because it is the sea season, and secondly, because vacationing in Armenia is more expensive. “Kobuleti is more affordable. Egypt is also relatively affordable,” said Torosyan.
It became clear to me why so many of my classmates at NYU Abu Dhabi chose Georgia or other neighboring countries over Armenia as travel destinations, despite my extensive marketing campaigns promoting Armenian tourism. From showing beautiful videos to sharing delicious snacks from home, I thought I was doing everything possible to motivate my peers to visit Armenia. Even when some students decided to visit Armenia along with Georgia, they often spent more days in Georgia than in Armenia. I was puzzled by this choice, but now I understand the decision-making process; when it comes to traveling, money does make a huge difference, and no matter how well-packaged an offer is, people (and students in particular) will choose the deal that best suits their pockets.
Sometimes, in addition to high prices, the offer itself isn’t well-packaged enough. During our visit to Gegharkunik Province, my family and I entered some of the cottages around Lake Sevan to see what the amenities were like and ask about pricing. Some of the cottages didn’t have basic amenities such as hot water.
Of course, there were many good cottages too, with clean and neat interiors and exteriors, but with prices at which I could have a week-long, all-inclusive vacation on the Georgian coast. There were also some charming hotels around Lake Sevan. When I summed up the money I would spend in Sevan for five days and compared it to the prices in Dubai, I realized that my stay in Sevan would cost more than purchasing roundtrip flight tickets and staying in a luxurious room in one of the most popular and glamorous areas in Dubai, right next to the beach.
The reason is simple: business owners in Dubai are aware of the drawbacks of traveling to the UAE in the summer, and to compensate for the hot weather and humidity, they lower prices. As a result, my Facebook and Instagram feeds are flooded with posts by my Armenian friends enjoying their time in the UAE. These posts are from people who love our homeland and would love to stay in Armenia and contribute to the local economy, but they choose other destinations due to financial concerns. Eventually, the heat in Dubai is overcome by the abundance of swimming pools and the affordability of hotels, while the charm and beauty of Sevan is overshadowed by unrealistic and uncomfortable high prices.
Once, my Austrian friend told me that one of her mom’s dreams is to see Lake Sevan. Sevan is beautiful, unearthly, breezy and cinematic. This summer isn’t the best for Sevan, with windy afternoons and cold evenings negatively affecting tourism in the region. Prices, however, have not responded to the adverse weather conditions. Cottages and hotels remain expensive, pushing many local and international tourists away.
I would like to juxtapose this information with a piece of news from Shamshyan.com: “Georgia’s income from international tourism reached a record 1.9 billion dollars in the first half of the year. This is reported by the Georgian National Tourism Administration. In the first semester, the largest number of international visits were registered from the neighboring countries Turkey, Russia and Armenia.” Armenian tourists alone have spent 60 million dollars in Georgia this year. I would be interested to know how much money Georgian tourists spent in Armenia this summer. I don’t have this information, but I have an idea: what if we start setting prices so that Sevan is no longer a dream…for Armenians themselves?
by Milena Baghdasaryan
Photo by Artem Darkov on Unsplash
