Armenia 74th, Georgia 66th in World Tourism Rankings
Referring to international tourism ratings, Azg says that Armenia ranks 74th place out of 124 countries in terms of popular world tourism destinations. Georgia and Russia are the only other CIS countries doing better with positions of 66th and 68th.
The World Economy Forum report says that the most popular tourist state remains Switzerland, then come Austria and Germany. The lest popular countries are Chad, Burundi and Angola.
The competitiveness of countries in the tourism sphere is defined by three main parameters – corresponding legislation, business are and infrastructures and human, culture and natural resources. Armenia has considerable advantage in legislation (rated 65), natural, human and culture resources (rated 62) and disadvantage in business area and infrastructures (rated 96). Armenia is attractive in sense due to high sanitary and hygiene conditions, the security of tourists and the native people’s welcome for them, as well as suitable prices.
Armenia’s competitiveness mainly suffers from visa regime with the states whose citizens go touring most frequently, problems with nature protection, lack of local air and vehicle transportation infrastructures, etc.
On the other hand Armenia is rated first by elementary education level and the last by naval port infrastructures.
It seems to be increasingly expensive for an average tourist to go and spend two weeks in Armenia. More so with the drop in the $US vis-a vis the Armenian Dram. Forget about bringing the wife and two kids along. Are our tourism professional in Yerevan taking any constructive steps to halt prices spiralling out of control???
Comment by chello — March 3, 2007 @ 2:59 am
I don’t think the prices in Armenia are out of line for an average tourist. Mid level hotel prices like the Mariott are compatible with their Western counterparts. One expects to find cheaper hotels in Armenia solely based on the fact that it’s a third world country. But usually such countries have far more expensive hotels than the living conditions suggest. Just look at the hotel prices in the Caribbean countries like Barbados. The hotels are expensive while the living standards are worse than Armenia!
The weakness of USD is a problem and affects the pockets of tourists venturing outside the US. Ad to that the airfare and there is little reason to cross the globe for a two week vacation unless one has strong feelings about Armenia (longing for belonging in a nation or ethnic group, or family).
Comment by nazarian — March 3, 2007 @ 10:26 pm
Yet in Georgia I can stay in very nice guesthouses right in the center of town with excellent service and an ample breakfast thrown in for just $50 a night.
Then look at Turkey, Greece and other similar countries and you can see that their success in terms of tourism (forgetting better infrastructure and more things to see and do) is keeping costs low.
As it is, it is cheaper for an Armenian here to go on holiday to Batumi and Kobuleti AND have a better time than it is to go to Sevan. This suggests that something’s wrong. One day, having a Diaspora won’t mean much when the real rules of tourism kick in.
Comment by Onnik — March 4, 2007 @ 9:43 pm
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On the other hand Armenia is rated first by elementary education level and the last by naval port infrastructures.
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Naval port infrastructure?
I think that Armenia’s naval port infrastructure is the same as Switzerland’s. Or Austria’s.
Comment by Ruben Muradyan — March 7, 2007 @ 8:36 pm
I never thought about it, but then after a google search this is what I found out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Army#Naval_Patrol
[…]Being landlocked, Switzerland does not have a navy, but it does maintain a fleet of military patrol boats, numbering 10 in 2006. They patrol the Swiss lakes: Lake Geneva, Lake Lucerne and Lake Constance. These boats are sometimes humorously referred to as the “Swiss Navy”.[…]
Comment by Observer — March 7, 2007 @ 9:00 pm
With the money you have to pay to stay in a moderately priced hotel in Yerevan one can travel to Greece, and yes, even Turkey, and get twice or thrice your money’s worth.
Comment by chello — March 9, 2007 @ 7:18 am
Yeah, the reference to naval port infrastrructure was amusing
Comment by Onnik — March 9, 2007 @ 3:28 pm