Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Panorama Tbilisi development project discussed

30.04.2014. On April 24, Tbilisi City Hall released a statement that they rejected the project offered by Panorama Tbilisi on March 27, 2014. Georgian billionaire and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili is one of the major investors in the project.

Panorama Tbilisi’s four multi-functional areas with a total investment of $500 million will be fully funded by the $6 billion USD Georgian Co-Investment Fund (GCF), which is a private equity fund.

The projects range across a variety of sectors totaling $1.3 billion USD including tourism and real estate, which will be allocated on half of the initial budget of half a billion USD. In addition, more than $770 million will be invested in two energy projects and $59.3 million USD will go towards developing Georgia’s agricultural industry with dairy farms and greenhouse projects.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Hospitality industry booms in Georgia

21.04.2014. There is an unprecedented boom happening in the hospitality industry in emerging markets worldwide, including Georgia, according to Jeffrey Catrett from the Institut Paul Bocuse, MSc in International Hospitality Management at EMLYON business school. He lists the blossoming Georgian wine tourism industry as one specific example and says that, as investment increases in both the leisure and business hospitality sectors, emerging markets such as Georgia must invest in training the managerial talent to keep pace with the expansion.

The BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - will be at the centre of growth for the hospitality industry in the next decade, according to Catrett.

“We have primarily been seeing growth in the hotel industry. There are two types of hotel - business and resorts. Business hotels in the emerging markets have benefitted from a more stable economic environment. These types of hotels rely on foreign investment into emerging markets that leads business and trade delegations to visit - and they need places to stay! Local people’s increased wealth has led them to invest in hotels to meet this need. And finally, big companies are expanding into new (emerging) markets to maintain growth and this has led also to an increase in business visitors,” said Jeffrey Catrett.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Katie Melua’s Tbilisi: My kind of town

Interview by York Membery

14.04.2014. Katie Melua, the singer, reveals her favourite hotels, bars and restaurants in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital and her childhood home

Why Tbilisi?

It’s where I spent most of my childhood up to the age of nine, before my family and I moved to Britain. Being the capital of Georgia, it’s the country’s cultural centre. It’s also steeped in history – the Old Town, with its twisting alleys, is particularly fascinating – and has some beautiful churches dating back hundreds of years. Unlike London, it’s a very hilly city with the advantage being you can enjoy the most fabulous views from certain points. It’s a city that’s very much off the beaten track. Not many tourists have been there, which makes it all the more worth visiting.

Anything special I should pack?

Probably headache pills and a hangover cure. The Georgians will treat you like royalty, and the odds are you’ll do a lot of eating, drinking and toasting. Being so hilly, good walking shoes are a must. It’s hot and muggy in the summer but very cold in the winter, so pack accordingly. Late spring is a good time to go.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

National tourism administration conducts ad campaigns only in five countries

12.04.2014. Marketing campaigns will be conducted only in Germany, Azerbaijan, the Netherlands, Austria and Poland this year. At this time it’s unknown whether or not ad campaigns will be conducted in Ukraine due to the current developments there. The total annual budget that will be spent on Georgia’s promotion in the world market amounts to 8 million 900 thousand GEL.

As early as last December, the head of the Administration said that in 2014 Ukraine, Russia and Azerbaijan would be among the leaders of the target groups. The Baltic states, Germany, Hungary, Poland, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Israel were considered as the interesting markets as well.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Georgia, WTO discuss cooperation prospects

09.04.2014. Georgia and World Tourism Organization discussed the prospects of cooperation, in particular the creation of joint tourist products.

Georgian Prime Minister met with Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (WTO). Irakli Garibashvili thanked Taleb Rifai for his visit to Tbilisi and expressed the hope that mutual cooperation will soon enter a new phase, Georgian Prime Minister's office told Trend on April 7. "This is very important for Georgia," he added.

The parties discussed the tendencies of tourism development in Georgia and reforms implemented in this area.

Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the Georgian economy and its development is a priority for the authorities.

The prospects of cooperation, the creation of common tourism products and technical cooperation issues that the organization offers its members were discussed during the meeting.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Tbilisi International Airport among the best ten airports in Eastern Europe

01.04.2014. Tbilisi International Airport has been named as one of the best airports in Eastern Europe by Skytrax World Airport Awards, the most prestigious accolades for the world airport industry.

Result of a survey of air travelers revealed Tbilisi International Airport was ranked as one of the best ten airports in Eastern Europe of 2014.

The other top nine international airports were: Budapest Ferenc Liszt, Borispol (Kiev), Tallinn, Riga, Bratislava, Belgrade, Sofia, Varna and Burgas.

TAV general manager Mete Erkal believed under the operation of TAV Georgia, Tbilisi International Airport had turned into "one of the most important hubs in Eastern Europe in a very short time”.

"Tbilisi International Airport provides services to more than 1.4 million passengers a year. It was in the result of passenger surveys that Tbilisi International Airport was named as one of the best airports in Eastern Europe,” Erkal said.