Greece visa delays paralyze travel agencies in Armenia
The summer tourist season has officially begun, and unprecedented activity is being observed in Armenia’s tourism market. However, alongside year-over-year growth in demand, Armenian tourists and travel agencies are facing a severe issue that has long paralyzed the plans of those hoping to vacation in Europe. The issue concerns artificially created obstacles in booking appointment dates at visa application centers and embassies.
The Armenian Weekly spoke about this and other urgent challenges in the sector with Alina Petrosyan, founder of Any Wish Tour and president of the Federation of Tourism Innovation and Development.
‘Inaccessible’ Greece and systemic technical issues
Traditionally, the most popular summer destinations for the Armenian market are Greece and Cyprus. This year, however, traveling to Greece has become practically impossible. “As of this moment, it is absolutely impossible to secure an appointment for Greece by any means. And the issue is not that dates are unavailable; we open the system and see the dates, but in order to confirm the appointment, a verification code must be sent, and that code simply never arrives,” the founder of Any Wish Tour said.
According to Petrosyan, this is not a problem restricted to one or two agencies, but a widespread issue. It affects around 600 to 700 companies, all of which are facing the same obstacle. What is surprising, however, is the response of the authorities — or rather, the lack thereof. Representatives of the sector have repeatedly raised the issue across various platforms, but in response, they have heard only denials claiming that everything is functioning correctly on authorities’ end and that the problem likely lies with the companies themselves.
The travel company founder said she is certain there are severe issues within the system, and that specific theories regarding their underlying motives are circulating within the industry.
“We even have theories that these are artificially generated problems, designed so they can directly sell those slots for a fee to other tourists who manage to reach them through backdoor channels and purchase those dates,” Petrosyan said.
Consequences of the crisis
This technical barrier creates an exceptionally difficult situation for both travel agencies, which act as the responsible party, and travelers themselves. Under these circumstances, companies are forced to seek alternative options and offer other destinations to clients. As a result, citizens who had planned vacations in Greece long in advance are forced to alter their destination and travel to Cyprus or another coastal country.
According to Alina Petrosyan’s analysis, this crisis is not new. It began in the period following the COVID-19 pandemic and the 44-day Artsakh war, deepened step by step, and has now reached its peak. Although there are still individual embassies with which agencies can work and book appointments, the overall picture remains concerning. According to Petrosyan, this is an artificially created obstacle aimed at complicating the visa acquisition process for Armenian tourists.
Empty talk around visa liberalization
Reflecting on the actively discussed topic of visa liberalization with the European Union, Petrosyan offered forecasts. She recalled that the process is not new and began in 2012. She emphasized that the conditions and criteria set before Armenia are so complex that the country will not be able to fully implement them for many years, which will undoubtedly prolong the process.
“In my estimation, I see at least a three- to five-year window during which this will certainly not happen. Thus, a serious question arises: Are we genuinely moving toward visa liberalization, or is it just empty talk?” Petrosyan said.
Inflation and summer trends: What Armenian consumers choose
Despite the headaches associated with visas and inflation across all destinations, which has moderately affected the volume of travelers, the season remains quite active. To ensure that citizens do not see their summer vacations ruined, Petrosyan offered one clear and crucial piece of advice: The process for traveling to Schengen countries should be initiated at least six months before the trip so that issues with visa centers can be sorted out within that timeframe.
As for the domestic tourism market, the main summer trends remain largely unchanged. Petrosyan said that during Armenia’s hot summer months, people mainly head to cooler mountainous areas and destinations near water. The most sought-after locations remain Dilijan, Sevan, Aghveran and Hankavan.
