The project includes two components:
- Infrastructure investments in urban regeneration of Tskaltubo and tourism circuit development;
- Institutional development.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
World Bank supports infrastructure in Georgia’s Imereti region
New Tbilisi - Odessa flight route introduced
"Unlike previous years, the flight will will be regular weekly service on Sundays. From Odessa plane will take off at 9:00 am, and from Tbilisi at 15.05 local time," - reads the statement. The route uses modern aircraft ATR-72-500. Service on board is organized in economy class. The flight duration is approximately three hours.
Currently flights to Georgia, including Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi are carried by Ukrainian and Georgian airlines from Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Dnepropetrovsk.
© HTN (Hvino Tour News)
"The Wall Street Journal": The Museum as Mirror
06.11.2012. Like the country it embodies, indeed for the sake of that country, the Georgian National Museum is reimagining the past to carve out a durable future. The struggle for reinvention—a national obsession since the Soviet Union's demise—has if anything intensified with the Oct. 1 parliamentary elections. President Mikheil Saakashvili's staunchly pro-Western party lost control of Parliament to a free-spending oligarch sympathetic to the Kremlin, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who had made his money in Russia. Acute hostility divides the two sides, and nobody knows how much of the relentlessly modernizing president's post-Soviet orientation the new parliamentary leader will try to undo.
While most Georgians remain deeply anti-Moscow, many seem nostalgic for some vaguely imagined pre-Saakashvili era. One might call it a struggle to define the Georgian soul, and that defining is what a national museum can do most deliberately.
Georgia to invest another half million dollars into advertising in Israel
07.11.2012 (HTN - Hvino Tour News) About 26,000 Israeli tourists have visited Georgia in 2012. This is 20% more than during the same period last year. Georgia recently decided to invest about half a million dollars in advertising in Israel, according to newspaper Maariv. The Israeli newspaper refers to Maia Sidamonidze, director of the National Tourism Agency of Georgia, who visited Israel last week.
During Georgia's Independence Day cerebration in Herzliya, Israel, Ambassador Archil Kekelia said that his government allocated about a million dollars to promote Georgia's tourist attractions Israel. Apparently, the amount was only enough for three months, and Tbilisi decided to increase the scale of its advertising campaign Israelis, concludes Izrus news site.
© HTN (Hvino Tour News)
Monday, November 5, 2012
Radisson Batumi Expecting High Occupancy over New Year Celebrations
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| Photo: Financial |
05.11.2012. Radisson Blu Batumi Hotel expects high occupancy during the New Year celebrations according to Mr. Torbjorn Bodin, General Manager of the hotel. As Mr. Bodin says, summer is the high season in Batumi and this is reflected in the increased number of hotel bookings during this period. “We were running at almost full hotel capacity from mid-June to mid-September with a lot of people in the Hotel, around the pools and in the restaurants,” he added.
Featuring 168 rooms the property is located at the centre of the city alongside the famous Batumi Boulevard. It is conveniently located in the main business district of Batumi. The Radisson Blu Hotel, Batumi, is designed for comfort. The bedrooms feature trendy and modern interior design and come equipped with complimentary high-speed wi-fi. The majority of the rooms offer breathtaking views over the Black Sea.
Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel has had the Best Occupancy Rate in 2012
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| Photo: Financial |
05.11.2012. The year 2012 has been the best year so far in terms of occupancy according to Michael Jacobi, General Manager of Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel. The Hotel has been in operation since September 2009 and its business levels have grown steadily since the opening according to Mr. Jacobi.
“A lot of business over the summer was related to the parliamentary elections on 1 October,” said Mr. Jacobi.
“October was a little bit quieter than initially forecasted which was linked to the election outcome. Several projects were on hold during the formation of the new government which affected the numbers of visitors coming to Tbilisi . We are optimistic about the rest of the year,” Jacobi said.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Finance Minister: President Saakashvili's palace may become a hotel
03.11.2012 (HTN - Hvino Tour News). The Palace of Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili may become a hotel, said Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri. "The Avlabari residence may well be converted into a hotel, it's an interesting location with a good view, the historical center of Tbilisi," - said Khaduri, as quoted by Russian newspaper Vzgliad. The decision has been made already that this palace is no longer the seat of Saakashvili, - said Finance Minister of Georgia.According Mr. Khaduri, it is "absolutely possible" to pass other presidential residences to investors as well. "Then the assignment of these residences will change," - he said the TV channel Maestro. He said that it will not interfere with the work of Georgia's leader.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Tourism business dissatisfied with National Tourism Agency: "If tourism is not a priority for the government, it is better for the sector"
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| Photo: Commersant |
"We, of course, will support the development of tourism, but tourism can’t be either the sole or the main activity because we have more, much more richer and diverse resource," - Bidzina Ivanishvili said in his speech. Commersant tried to connect with the National Tourism Agency and find out how much the agency’s funding is and whether increase or decrease is planned or change of the agency’s functions. However, we have not received any response from the agency management.
According to the director of the travel company "Travel Tour" Siko Gegiadze, funding should be increased, but if tourism is not a priority for the new government, it is better for tourism industry development.
Balneological resort in Vejini to open in December
Private investments have been attracted for the resort and more than 2 million GEL was invested in the project. Vejini balneological resort includes a 28 - room hotel, which will be also opened in December. Georgia’s President Mikheil Saakashvili announced the complex construction in 2011.
© HTN (Hvino Tour News)
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Georgian delegation to attend London's World Travel Market 2012
World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend business-to-business exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Almost 48,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press, embark on ExCeL, London every November to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM.
© HTN (Hvino Tour News)
Welcome to Hvino TOUR News!
01.11.2012. Today we are pleased to officially launch our new resource Hvino TOUR NEWS. Since September - during over a month's period - Hvino TOUR NEWS has been fully operating, and today it is finally announced.
HTN is a "junior sister" of Hvino News, which today has a small anniversary - 6 months of operation. The team which is behind both information projects is working to deliver quality news and information to our global readership as fast as possible. We are happy to broaden our scope by including tourism and hospitality news from Georgia, and we hope to contribute in raising global awareness about Georgia's unique offers to the world.
Enjoy reading Hvino TOUR NEWS! You may also subscribe for receiving our news by e-mail (see "Subscribe" box in the right column), or follow us via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or RSS.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Minister of Regional Development: Bakhmaro, Ureki and Anaklia Projects to Continue
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| Photo: Commersant |
Before his recent ministerial appointment, Davit Narmania was Executive Director of Caucasian Institute for Economic and Social Research (CIESR). He holds a professorship and a Ph.D. degree in economics.
© HTN (Hvino Tour News)
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sheraton Reports on Increase of Leisure Travellers to Georgia
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| Photo: The Financial |
29.10.2012. “The occupancy rate at the Sheraton Metechi Palace Hotel is more than 80 percent over the whole year. This has been the best year for the Hotel,” claims Andreas Heidingsfelder, General Manager at the Sheraton Metechi Palace. “More and more tourists are coming to the country and luckily many of them stay with us,” he told The Financial last week.
Q. From your point of view, how will the recent change of government influence the hotel business?
A. We can’t say for sure yet, but we will soon see. Leisure tourism has been going up over the past several years as a result of the country’s politics. The government has been actively promoting Georgia as a country for tourists to enjoy. I hope that this trend continues.
HTN publishes Wine Map of Georgia
29.10.2012.
(HTN - Hvino Tour News). Hvino TOUR News is pleased to offer to its readers the Wine Map of Georgia. This map was made available to us by the author Mr. Wojciech Bosak, who kindly provided the map and gave us permission to publish his material.
Mr. Wojciech Bosak is wine journalist and writer from Poland. When asked him why he decided to make the Georgian wine map, Wojciech's answer was very simple: "Previously I published several articles on Georgian wine, and when I wrote the the last one about Georgian wine appellations I just needed a map. That is the story".
You may find the map in our section Maps, and in section Appellations of Hvino News, our sister news site on Georgian wine. Comments from wine experts about the map are always welcome. HTN would like to thank Mr. Wojciech Bosak for his contribution.
© HTN (Hvino Tour News), © Wojciech Bosak.
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| Click to Enlarge |
You may find the map in our section Maps, and in section Appellations of Hvino News, our sister news site on Georgian wine. Comments from wine experts about the map are always welcome. HTN would like to thank Mr. Wojciech Bosak for his contribution.
© HTN (Hvino Tour News), © Wojciech Bosak.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Tbilisi leads in Hotel Valuation Index in 2012
According to the study, Tbilisi hotel market demonstrated a 14% increase in 2012 versus just 1% in 2011. Performance of hotel market in Tbilisi is called as strong, allowing to move up three places since last year, recording a per room value at approximately €177,000. Tbilisi behaved exceptionally well in the value ranking, going up to 7th place, while most of the other markets maintained their rankings.
"Improved operational performances allowed Tbilisi to climb into the top three markets by increase in value in 2012 (14%), from €155,000 to €177,000", - point out the authors of research. "Improvements in the economic environment and investment climate in Georgia, coupled with cancellation of the visa regime for EU, US, Canadian and CIS countries' citizens assisted in developing the tourism industry. The growth in demand has offset the 11% increase in room supply in Tbilisi and resulted in a noticeable increase in occupancy (up 14%)."
HVS has forecast hotel values in Tbilisi to improve in the medium term, reaching approximately €262,000 per room in 2017.
© HTN (Hvino Tour News)
This article was reposted by:
- ГрузияOnline: Тбилиси лидирует в международном Индексе оценки отелей 2012 года
- The Messenger: News in Brief
- The FINANCIAL:Tbilisi Leads in Hotel Valuation Index in 2012
- Commersant: Tbilisi Hotel Market Increased by 14% this Year (repost without a reference to us!)
Friday, October 26, 2012
Tourism grows in Adjara
The number of tourists in Adjara reached 1, 403,201 this year and according to the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara Autonomous Republic, this number represents a rise of 68.7 percent from 2010.
From January-September 2012, arrivals of non-resident visitors to Adjara reached 693 645, which is 83.1% higher compared to the same period in 2011.
The department reports that the biggest share of non-resident visitors came from Turkey and constituted 38.9%. The statistics show that Turkey is followed by Armenia with 14.5% of non-resident visitors, Iran at 10.1% and Azerbaijan at 8.6% of non-resident visitors.
Source
Hotel rooms in Gudauri and Bakuriani booked for New Year
The Head of Bakuriani Tourism Information Center Marika Mankieva informed that the prices in the resort will be similar to last year’s. In particular, service in Bakuriani family hotels costs 25 - 35 GEL without meals, while the rest with 3 meals a day - 55-80 GEL. The prices of the rooms in hotels start from 120 GEL. The hotel rooms have been already booked for New Year by Azeri, Armenian, Ukrainian tourists. Among customers are also the locals. As Mankieva explains us, the season is expected to start from December 15, while new projects are not planned.
The season in Gudauri will begin on December 15-25. Prices in family-type hotels start from 35 USD. According to the hotels, foreign tourists have already booked the rooms. For 2013 winter season roads and drainage system will be fully renovated in Gudauri as well as 45 buildings are planned to be completely rehabilitated.
Source
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Future of National Tourism Agency is unclear
In her words, she has not met the new candidate for ministerial post and therefore she doesn’t know whether tourism issue is a priority for the new government. Sidamonidze explained that it is also unknown in what form the agency will continue working. Sidamonidze notes that plans for the coming year are likely to be revised. Head if National Tourism Agency suggested that a meeting with the new minister to be held next week.
© HTN (Hvino Tour News)