Cancellations or activeness: what impact Russia-Ukraine developments could have on Armenian tourism sector

YEREVAN, MARCH 4, ARMENPRESS. The ongoing developments around Ukraine will leave their impact on Armenia’s tourism sector, however, it is still early to talk about the concrete tendencies, President of the Armenian Tourism Federation Mekhak Apresyan said in an interview to ARMENPRESS, adding that this impact can be reflected in different forms.

“The flows from Russia to Armenia could drastically increase. As some roads at different destinations are closed, Armenia may be an alternative”, he said.

On the other hand, he noted that the depreciation of the Russian ruble will also leave its negative effect. According to him, it could be a very restraining factor as people’s purchasing power falls and the opportunity to travel is being limited.

“In addition to finance, people also do not have a big desire to travel because of the heavy situation. Therefore, as long as this situation is new, it’s difficult to talk about concrete tendencies, some issues will be clear after a week. Currently no tendencies connected with activness are being observed. There are also no total cancellations as of now. In any case, we need to be ready to respond both to the current situation and continue doing our job. Because the interest to Armenia from different countries of the world has always existed, isn’t it?” he said.

Apresyan said Russia is among these countries having a great interest to Armenia. It still remains one of the leading countries in the list of general visits to Armenia. Russian tourists have always felt themselves well in Armenia as their visit justified their expectations.

“We must be able to attract tourists not only from Russia, but also other countries. There are lot of works to be done on this direction. We must continue organizing events of international significance and boosting the festival tourism. A foreigner says that Armenia is a desirable, reliable tourism place. After COVID-19 the countries of the world are doing everything to keep their place in the newly formed market, to move forward and better position themselves”, Mekhak Apresyan said.

Co-founder of Apaga Tour Artak Chibukhchyan said in the current situation Armenia has all opportunities for being an alternative to tourists. He emphasized that this depends on both the private sector and the government’s policy.

“We need to be active and present different packages. We need to highlight the reliability of our country. There have been many cases when citizens of Palestine, Israel, Iran and different Arab countries have been sitting around the same bonfire in our resorts. They were also surprised that they were talking to one another and there is no battle. This is an Armenian environment, and we need to highlight this”, he said.

As for the impact on tourism flows, Mr. Chibukhchyan said they have no cancellations, moreover the interest has increased a little. Many people are searching for a convenient place to relax from the current situation. He once again emphasized that both the private and the public sectors in Armenia need to be active.

Interview by Anna Gziryan