Thursday, June 30, 2016

Georgian Railway deploys Swiss-made double decker trains

30.06.2016  (Hvino Tour News). Swiss Stadler Rail is to supply Georgian Railway with four KISS double-deck electric multiple-units under an €39.6m agreement.

The EMUs are to be delivered between June and September and will be deployed on fast services between Tbilisi and the Black Sea resorts of Batumi, Kobuleti and Ureki. GR said the new rolling stock would improve passenger comfort and help to support tourism. The new trainsets would be fully compliant with European safety standards, and be the first Georgian trainsets to be ‘completely adjusted to the needs of physically disabled persons’, GR added.

Each new train will be able to service about 530 passengers at once and reach a maximum speed of 160 km/h.

Georgian Railway says it has no plans to raise the cost of tickets. At present, a ticket from Tbilisi to Batumi costs 19-26 GEL.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Travel & tourism investments in Georgia to rise by 6.3% in 2016

20.06.2016. Travel & Tourism investment in Georgia in 2015 was GEL 231.7mn, or 3.4% of total investment. The figure is forecasted to rise by 6.3% in 2016. The direct contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP was GEL2,195.9 mn (7.1% of total GDP) in 2015, and is forecast to rise by 5.9% in 2016, and to rise by 6.1% pa, from 2016-2026, to GEL4,212.6 mn (8.4% of total GDP) in 2026.

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the global authority on the economic and social contribution of Travel & Tourism, in 2015 Travel & Tourism in Georgia directly supported 100,500 jobs (5.8% of total employment). This is expected to rise by 4.2% in 2016 and rise by 1.8% pa to 125,000 jobs (7.2% of total employment) in 2026. Rochelle Turner is the head of research at “WTTC Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2016 Georgia”.