Georgian Tourists Are Not Coming to Armenia Because There Is No Advertising and They Do Not Know Where They Can Go, Gedvanišvili Says

Residents of Georgia are not well acquainted with Armenia's tourism attractions, yet it is a wonderful country with numerous fantastic resorts and superb culinary tours. This was stated by Iya Gedvanišvili, head of the public relations department of the Georgian Tourism Association and owner of the "Check-in Travel" tourism company, during a video bridge organized by Sputnik Armenia between Yerevan and Tbilisi.

Due to a lack of awareness, Georgians often do not consider the neighboring republic as a holiday destination.

"Georgians are not coming not because it is uninteresting to them, but simply because they do not know where to go and what to do in Armenia. There is no advertising, and there is no activity from your tourism operators. When there is no offer, there is also no demand," Gedvanišvili noted.

The department head has visited Armenia multiple times, and he was particularly impressed by the culinary tours. "The khorovats (barbecue) is a fairy tale here," he said.

Marina Krpeyan, a member of the Armenian Tourism Federation Council and founder of the "Armenia Travel" tourism company, agrees with her Georgian colleague. During the video bridge, she mentioned that Armenia is poorly represented as a holiday destination in Georgia. She promised to discuss this issue with the federation representatives.

According to Krpeyan, Armenia indeed has great potential for attracting tourists. Only in August, three major events are expected for guests and residents of the country, including a barbecue festival that has already gained wide recognition.

"There is some progress in the tourism sector, but we cannot confidently say that we will reach predictable indicators, meaning an increase of up to 30% from the total number of tourism flows in 2019," Krpeyan said.