Why Do Armenians Prefer Georgia Among Summer Holiday Spots?

In a couple of weeks the line of cars will head for the Armenian-Georgian border. Perhaps it’s in the nature of Armenians to go on holiday in groups in the same place. But this fact can be explained from other perspectives as well; the choice of Georgian shore is conditioned with relatively affordable prices of hotels, hostels and rest houses, as well as with a more limited travel budget, simplified customs system, and with an absence of communication barriers.

Trips to Georgia have turned into a profitable business for those who are engaged in it, especially trips in the direction of Batumi, Kobuleti, Ureki and some other places nearby. Still seasonal, but a profitable one.

For the Georgian inbound tourism market the holidaymakers from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Russia are regarded as the target groups.

Only in 2011 448.374 holidaymakers visited Georgia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia said. The number of holidaymakers increases significantly especially during summertime period. The number of people, targeting Georgian coastal zones, has increased by 37%, in comparison with 2010.

At present the development of the hotel market is set as one of the top priorities on the agenda of the Georgian government. Along with the construction of new hotels, hostels, rest-houses, the government is aimed at improving the level of accommodation and at coordinating the flow of holidaymakers. According to the National Tourism Industry of Georgia, each tourist spends on average 1,500$ in Georgia. The forecasts say, that apart from the target zones, new rest places in Svaneti, Ajaria are to go under exploitation this year.

The reasoning why Armenians prefer to spend their holidays in Georgia may be provided in this dropdown:

- The entry visa is issued directly at the frontier.

- The Georgian hotel market prices are more affordable in comparison with the offers of local resorts.

- The fare is close to minimum.

- There are no language barriers. The flow of Armenians has left its track, as even in neighbor states Armenians still talk in Armenian.

- Everyone may find an accommodation offer, meeting its requirements.

The destination choice falls on Georgia as the average travel budget allows to pick that direction where accommodation + travel + coastal zone = rest, which is not possible to enjoy in Armenia, and definitely not due to a simple fact that Armenia has no sea coasts, but because the local rest market with its price scale is not affordable to a medium-budget Armenian traveller. Whereas in case of choosing some other seaside directions, a line of other obstacles come out: visa acquisition (which in case of European directions is like a lottery: one cannot predict whether the solution of the long-lasting process will be in savor of the bidder or not, even with a compilation of all proper documents), and a sharp contrast of travel budget.

And how to choose accommodation in Georgia?

The variants to choose are quite many and depend on the travelling experience, budget limit and on the level of awareness. Apart from the traditional Armenian method, the so-called meet-and-sale option, many people prefer to choose an accommodation directly upon their arrival. Some prefer to learn the details of the accommodation offer in advance and select the ones, previously accommodated and recommended by their friends.

Whereas active Internet users apply individually by studying the Georgian hotels and booking the one which suites them best. It seems to be not a time&effort taking option, even more an unbiased one, especially taking into account the important fact that no additional service charge is applied in case of suchlike on-line bookings. This option is convenient because one can see the pictures, prices at a place and choose one by comparison.

As for the online accommodation offers, they vary as well, for example Sedoi Ural hotel in Kobuleti (http://www.inlobby.com/en/hotels/63553/sedoi-ural.html), 3-star Prestige Hotel in Batumi (http://www.inlobby.com/en/hotels/63489/prestige-hotel-2.html), Hotel Savane in Kobuleti (http://www.inlobby.com/en/hotels/63451/savane-hotel.html):