Tbilisi New Wine Festival date announced

30.03.2013 (Hvino News). The fourth festival of young wine will take place in Tbilisi on May 11.

Wine companies and individual producers will contribute to the annual event, which last year had attracted about 15 000 visitors. Wine Club and Municipality of Tbilisi are organizers of the festival. According to them, in 2013 there will be more individual producers represented at the festival.

The usual site of the open-air festival is Ethnographic Museum in Tbilisi. For 2012's festival report, see here.

© Hvino News

Why I'd Take Tbilisi Over Rome or Zurich

By Paul Rimple

25.03.2013. When CNN published a travel story earlier this month showing Tbilisi's ranking as one of the worst cities in the world, it sent locals in a tizzy. Georgians think Tbilisi is the bellybutton of the universe. It might be crazy, but that's part of its charm. Calling it inferior reflects a second-rate way of seeing the world.

The bogus ranking was reflected in the 2012 Quality of Living Survey by Mercer, a U.S.-based consulting firm. Mercer bases its criteria on factors such as safety, education, hygiene and political-economic stability in an effort to help multinational companies decide where to open shop and how much to pay employees.

Georgia becomes a tourist destination for Iraqis

by Giorgi Lomsadze

26.03.2013. In a move that emphasizes the South Caucasus country's emerging ties with the Middle East, Georgia’s largest carrier, Airzena Georgian Airways, has launched direct flights to Erbil, capital of the autonomous northern region of Kurdistan in Iraq.

Georgia and Iraq have visa-free travel and a growing number of Iraqis of late have been trekking out to Georgia by land or by connecting flights. After the number hit 7,000 last year, Airzena started negotiations with the government of Kurdistan over a direct air link.

The region's relative safety and the new money produced by the development of its energy resources seem to have motivated the pick of Erbil, but the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and the Kurdish cultural hub of Sulaymaniah are next on the list.

Georgia to host international wine tourism conference in 2014

22.03.2013 (HTN - Hvino Tour News) Georgia successfully participated in 5th International Wine Tourism Conference (IWINETC) in Zagreb, Croatia, on 15 - 16 March, being also one of main sponsors of the Conference (read more: Georgia to sponsor wine tourism conference in Zagreb and Georgian wines at IWINETC 2013 in Zagreb).

It was announced that next year, Georgia will be the host country for IWINETC '2014. A special presentation reflecting the trends of tourism development in Georgia as well as the capacity and infrastructure of wine tourism, was held at conference in Zagreb. It was noted that in recent years Georgia has made significant progress in the development of this type of tourism.

New ferry service between Derince (Turkey) and Poti (Georgia) launched

21.03.2013 (HTN - Hvino Tour News) Brand new ferry service between Derince (Turkey) and Poti (Georgia) launched with effect from March 14, 2013.

Railcars carrying both conventional and dangerous as well as off-gauge cargoes, trucks and cars, tracked vehicles, palletized and non-palletized deck cargoes are accepted for carriage.

The line is served with rail ferries «Geroi Shipki» and «Geroi Plevny» and offers fortnightly departures and all-the-year-round navigation.

Customers are additionally offered logistics and forwarding package which includes shipping railcars, vehicles and other cargoes from the port of Derince to the port of Poti and further to a destination in Central Asia or via the port of Derince to a destination in other major European ports both for inbound and outbound cargoes.

© HTN (Hvino Tour News)

Georgia participates in 5th International Wine Tourism Conference in Zagreb

15.03.2013 (Hvino News) Georgia participates in 5th International Wine Tourism Conference (IWINETC) in Zagreb, Croatia, on 15 - 16 March.  Georgia is also one of main sponsors of the Conference (read more: Georgia to sponsor wine tourism conference in Zagreb).

On Saturday March 16th IWINETC closes with a tasting of Georgian wines. “Bolomde!” – bottoms up!

The first word most tourists to Georgia learn is “guamarjos!” – cheers! Long thought to be the birthplace of wine and supported by archaeologists finding wine vessels from 6000 years ago and ancient architecture with frescos of grape vines; this is a wine country.

Bringing wine made from Saperavi, Georgia’s most prominent red wine varietal identifiable by it’s pomegranate color and velvety structure, are wineries Winiveria, Khareba, and Shumi. Also taste Chateau Mukhrani’s Seperavi which delivers on mulberry, blackberry and cherry aromas.

"China Daily": A Vintage rebirth

by Ye Jun

Tucked in the Caucasus is an ancient tradition of wine making. Ye Jun sips across the sweet spots of Georgia.

Georgia is a country where humans first discovered the art of winemaking. One of the historic cradles of wine in the world, the country is revitalizing its viticulture and other traditions. A team of six journalists was invited by the Georgian Wine Agency recently to visit the vineyard regions of the country. At the airport, we are surprised and pleased to receive a small bottle of wine in a box that was labeled: "Welcome to the land of 8,000 vintages." The back of the box says the winemaking tradition of Georgia has "passed through generations for over 8,000 years".

Coming from a country with a 5,000-year-old civilization, we Chinese journalists are curious.

Georgia improved Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Rating by 7 points

09.03.2013 (Hvino Tour News) The World Economic Forum (WEF) released 2013 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) report, with Georgia advancing its positions from 73 to 66.

Russia worsened its positions, dropping from 59 to 63. Ukraine ranked 76th, Azerbaijan -78, Armenia - 79th. Details may be found here.

The analysts took into account such  factors as the state of the country's tourism sector, security, health, transport, culture, social security and the environment. Georgia’s competitiveness, in the overall, was evaluated of 4.10 points. Ratings leader - Switzerland has 5.66 points, while Haiti is in the bottom of the ranking with 2.59 points.

TTCI assessed 140 economies worldwide based on the extent to which they are putting in place the factors and policies to make it attractive to develop the travel and tourism sector. The report revealed that Switzerland, Germany and Austria lead the world in terms of travel and tourism competitiveness, with Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Canada, Sweden and Singapore completing the top 10.

© HTN (Hvino Tour News)

Over 200 thousand Russian tourists came to Georgia during last 6 months

02.03.2013 (HTN - Hvino Tour News) The number of Russian tourists in Georgia is significantly increasing. According to National Tourism Agency, from September 2012 to February 2013, the number of Russian tourists in Georgia has exceeded 204 thousand, which is 72% more than in the same period a year ago.

“Elite Travel Tour'' agency confirms that  the inflow of Russian tourists  increased compared with last year saying that introduction of visa-free regime with Russia played a significant role.

© HTN (Hvino Tour News)