Thursday, February 27, 2014

Armenia, Georgia, Turkey and Bulgaria to create integrated tourism network

27.02.2014. Heifer International Armenia presented today an international program designed to promote innovative rural tourism in the Black Sea basin region. The 700,000 euro worth project supported by the European Union embraces Armenia, Georgia, Turkey and Bulgaria. The program that started in November 2013 will last for 18 months.

"The project will build effective and replicable networks of capable local service providers in rural tourism, as well as will help travel agencies to co-develop market and sell a new unique tourist product that encourages interflows of visitors intra-regionally. It will contribute to unprecedented cooperation between national authorities in the region aimed ultimately to sustaining the cross-border impacts of rural tourism," said Anahit Ghazanchyan, director of the Armenian branch of Heifer Project International.

She explained that a network of travel agencies and other companies will be set up in Armenia that will establish links with similar agencies in the other three countries. The network in Armenia will develop and implement a unique tourist product  called "One tour package for regional visitors ," which will be part of  the  regional tourism product.

Mekhak Apresyan, head of an economy ministry department overseeing tourism industry, said the program will be actively supported by the government."We have potential to develop agro-tourism, when tourists are in agricultural work,’ he said.

Heifer Project International, founded in 1944, aims at reducing global poverty.

Source

ICC Georgia holds 5th Consultative Board

27.02.2014. Yesterday, 26 February 2014, the National Committee of ICC Georgia held its 5th Consultative Board meeting at The Holiday Inn in Tbilisi.  Mr. Fady Asly, Chairman of ICC, welcomed the members of the ICC Executive, ICC Youth, Consultative boards and special guests.  The program featured a presentation of DCFTA Implementation by Mr. Nikoloz Khundzakishvili, Chairman of the DCFTA Implementation Commission, and included an overview of the economy and investment climate from the perspectives of ICC (Mr. Fady Asly), Business Association Georgia (Dr. Soso Pkhakadze), American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia (Ms. Sarah Williamson), and the Georgian Bar Association (Mr. Zaza Bibliashvili).  Ms. Teona Lavrelashvili, Chairwoman of the Youth Parliament and ex officio, ICC board member, remarked on the highlights of her trip to the United Nations in New York and US State Department and Congress in Washington, D.C., partially organized by ICC Georgia. Following the presentations, the Consultative Board had the opportunity for questions and remarks.

Afterwards, a reception in honor of the Consultative Board was held with attendees including ICC youth members, partners from the business sector, distinguished guests and the diplomatic corps. The reception was opened by the Honorable Bruno Balvanera, Regional Director of the EBRD, who provided a summary of the ICC’s Consultative Board Meeting.  Mr. Fady Asly, Chairman of ICC Georgia introduced the newest Consultative Board member, H.E. Mr. Z. Levent Gümrükçü, Ambassador of Turkey.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Tskaltubo Spa Resort to become the hub of medical tourism

24.02.2014. Tskaltubo spa resort in western part of Georgia is cited to become region’s medical tourism hub.

Following a visit to the self-described healing centre, Georgia National Tourism Administration (GNTA) head Giorgi Sigua said medical tourism development in Georgia was a main priority of the Government in the next few years. GNTA is responsible for tourism development policy in the country.

Sigua said it had realized only 5% of Tskaltubo’s medical tourism potential, and only one hotel out of 22 accommodation suppliers was currently operating, when preciously, they were all in full use.

"The health characteristics of the mineral springs of warm Radon waters, the unique climate, the Kutaisi International Airport located 20km from the resort and infrastructure projects implemented following financial support from the World Bank, [encourages us to believe] Tskaltubo will regain its past attractiveness and become the medical hub of the region,” Sigua said.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

"Aeroflot" Returns to Georgia

20.02.2014 (Hvino TOUR News). Negotiations between Tbilisi airport operator TAV Georgia  and Russian airline Aeroflot completed successfully. Russian aviation giant will start service in Georgia in April.

It is assumed that the flights will be operated every day. The company will carry them on Airbus A 320.

In early January, Aeroflot said that the company's entry to the Georgian market is questionable and the final decision is still pending. As a result of negotiations with the Georgian side, eventually the issue was resolved positively. Aeroflot stopped service to Georgia after the 2008 war.

© Hvino TOUR News

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Georgia’s qvevri wine trending in America

by Tamar Khurtsia

19.02.2014. A new trend is emerging in America – to drink orange wine, which is a special Georgian ghvino variation. Georgian woman Vera Person Sagareishvili, who is the managing director of Corporate Accounts at Panorama Travel (a New York-based travel agency), believes more Americans could enjoy Georgia’s Qvevri wine but the product needs to promote this most cherished wine-making method among them.

Pearson Sagareishvili emigrated to the United States of America 18 years ago. Within her role with Panorama Travel, she closely works with the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA), a Governmental body responsible to develop tourism and attract American tourists to Georgia.

Agenda.ge interviewed Vera Pearson Sagareishvili and asked her about Georgia’s developing hospitality sector, the major challenges within the industry, the characteristics of American travelers and what attracts them to Georgia.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Georgia to resume financing the country’s promotion in 2014

18.02.2014. In 2014, Georgia will participate in 18 international exhibitions and will spend GEL 9 million on marketing activities across 12 different countries. The budget of Georgia’s main tourism agency increased twofold compared to 2013 amounting to GEL 12,653,000 this year. Countries where marketing campaigns are planned include parts of Western Europe and the former USSR.

“By 2035 Europe’s public debt is expected to be 135% of the GDP in countries around the world. That means that they will not have enough money to invest in everything they want. Can the Government afford to pay for tourism infrastructure anymore?” asks Andrew Coxshall, Managing Partner of KPMG in Georgia and Armenia.

“Everyone sees that public debt has not hampered financing of the tourism sector and Georgia does not face such a risk in the foreseeable future,” said Giorgi Sigua, head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration. “There are good examples of such tourism destinations as Great Britain, Germany and France, where they have large amounts of public debt, still allocating enough money to finance tourism development,” Sigua commented.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

International wine tourism conference has its sights set on Georgia, Sakartvelo

by Terry Sullivan

Wine tourism is becoming more defined as people become aware of the vast number of wine regions throughout the world. Even with this increased perception amongst wine travelers, it is not uncommon to hear, “I didn’t know they made wine there.” I’ve heard this many times about the country Georgia, the site for the sixth International Wine Tourism Conference (IWINETC). The conference takes place in Tbilisi March 29th and 30th. Why would an international conference choose a country to host an event that many people do not even know where it is located?

The country Georgia is an obvious choice for a wine tourism conference. Many people who drink wine will at least occasionally think about the wine, the grapes, the producer, the vineyards, the wine region and perhaps the history of the region. Some may observe the wine in a glass and ponder, “Where was wine first made?” The answer lies in the country Georgia. Wine has been continuously produced in Georgia for 8,000 years. That is thousands of years before wines were produced in Greece, Italy and France. Grapes were cultivated in Georgia for thousands of years. The country has a most impressive wine history. What does it offer wine tourists?

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

"Georgia is the Country of Life" is the new tourism slogan

12.02.2014 (Hvino TOUR News). The National Tourism Administration launches the newest tourism slogan “Georgia is a country of life", according to the Head of the National Tourism Administration Giorgi Sigua. He says that Georgia is a country that offers tourists the best local cuisine, wine and nature. He notes that we can offer a lot of activities that attract tourists.

Sigua claims that the Administration expects a 18 percent growth of tourists in 2014. This means that more than 6 million international visitors will visit Georgia. Sigua adds, however, there is still a lot of work to do. For example, Georgia should develop hotels.

In Sigua’s words, in 2014 the administration will spend 8.9 million GEL for marketing activities to strengthen the positive image of Georgia. This is almost three times more than was spent in 2013. Sigua explains that the ads will be launched in 12 countries. These are Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Poland, Austria , the Netherlands, Azerbaijan and so on. A total of 4.5 million GEL will be spent for this purpose. He informs that around 2 million GEL will be spent for participation in international exhibitions. Half a million will be spent to bring foreign journalists to Georgia.

Levan Koberidze, head of Branding.ge, calls the Administration's slogan "a little unclear", claiming why Georgia is the country of life and not, for example, Japan or Croatia. Koberidze notes that it can be specified in the concept, but at this point it's unclear.

© Hvino TOUR News

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Armenia, Georgia to sign new agreement to resume cooperating in tourism

09.02.2014. Armenian government approved Thursday signing of an agreement with Georgian government for cooperation in tourism area.

Armenian Economy Minister Vahram Avanesyan, presenting the matter to other ministers at today’s Cabinet meeting, said the countries governments signed a similar agreement in 1993 for ten years.

“The agreement term has already expired and in fact, by signing this new agreement we resume our cooperation with Georgia in tourism area,” he said.

According to Georgia’s interior ministry, some 1.28 million Armenian citizens visited Georgia in 2013. Armenia is the second largest provider of travelers to Georgia.

Source 

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Georgia and Armenia: a spiritual journey ("The Telegraph")

by Peter Hughes

08.02.2014. In the unfamiliar, stricken landscape of Georgia and Armenia, Peter Hughes satisfies his thirst for spiritual history among a surprising wealth of significant sacred sites.

For the people who live there, the upheavals in the Middle East have been disastrous. But for travellers they have also placed many of the region’s great archaeological sites out of bounds, leaving big blanks in the atlas of cultural tours.

Yet one site’s quarantine is another’s discovery, and holidaymakers in need of their annual history fix are casting around for new lands and new epochs for their edification. It was in that prospecting spirit that I went to Transcaucasia and the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Georgia. They were two countries that hitherto had not loomed large on my list of places to go. I was wrong.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

122 714 tourists arrived to Georgia in January

06.02.2014. In January 2014, 319 400 tourists crossed border of Georgia. Growth is mentioned in comparison with December (391 724 visitors) - 6% reduction was mentioned in December.

Ministry of Internal Affairs informs that in comparison with the same period of last year growth is 14,1%  (280 023).

Like in previous months, in the reporting period majority of the visitors - 96 434 persons crossed border from Turkey, although growth is negative.

Out of the total number of the visitors 122 714 are tourists, 53 241 - transit passengers.

IWINETC in Tbilisi offers special discounts

05.02.2014. IWINETC 2014, the International meeting place for the wine and culinary tourism industry has announced a range of special offers and discounts for all attendees of the event, which will take place in Tbilisi Marriott, Georgia from 29 – 30 March 2014. Discounts available here.

Participants of IWINETC will also be able to take advantage of discounted accommodation during their time in Tbilisi. Attendees can secure reduced rates at the both the Tbilisi Marriott and the nearby Courtyard Marriott.

To find out more about the benefits of attending IWINETC 2014 as a conference delegate and to register, please visit www.iwinetc.com.

Tour operators or travel agents specialized in wine and culinary tourism or considering adding this lucrative product to their portfolio could be eligible to attend IWINETC as an Invited Buyer. To find out more, please view the info for the Wine Tourism Meet Up and Fam Trip.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Georgia Spent $1,000 on country’s promotion in 2013

04.02.2014. The Georgian Government spent nothing on advertising campaigns in the second half of 2013. The sum spent on this direction in the first half of 2013 amounted to GEL 1,870. In 2010, 225 international publications reported on Georgia. By comparison, the figure was 59 in 2013. Experts involved in PR consulting suggest that officials keep up a constant promotional campaign in order to ensure their own as well as the country’s reputation.

The number of tourists visiting Georgia increased by 21% in 2013 compared to the previous year. The total number of visitors last year was 5,365,356, up from 4,428,221 in 2012. The number of tourists has been increasing for the last 5 years thanks to significant investments in the tourism sector, especially in hotels and the infrastructure of the Black Sea and mountain resorts. But experts believe the recent tendency of reducing the amount of advertising of the country will worsen the situation again.

“The support of foreign media is important for the country’s image. The reduction in the number of articles will impact on the awareness of the country internationally,” Givi Khachapuridze, Director at PR Consulting Group, told The Financial. “Considering the political factor, radical forces will get the opportunity to evoke negative information about the Government. The decreased coverage in international publications has already become an obstacle for the Government and the country’s image,” Khachapuridze believes.