Friday, May 29, 2015

Tourist boom in Georgia and Azerbaijan helps mitigate low oil prices

by Giorgi Meladze*

29.05.2015. Georgia and Azerbaijan, two South Caucasus countries that offer breath-taking natural beauty, architectural treasures and rich histories, are going all-out to develop their tourism industries, writes Giorgi Meladze.

In petroleum-rich Azerbaijan’s case, tourism development is helping it counter a drop in oil prices that many experts say will last for years. In Georgia, tourism is helping offset a drop in business stemming from its neighbors' oil-revenue declines.

The multibillion-dollar investments that Georgia, Azerbaijan and their private-sector partners are making in tourism infrastructure and promotion are paying off with surges in visitor numbers.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Can 2015 be Georgian cuisine's breakout year?

Jenny Holm

27.05.2015. For most Westerners, the states of the former Soviet Union bring to mind something of a culinary wasteland. Blame the Gulag, Cold War-era propaganda, and black and white photos of miles-long bread lines: whatever the source, our associations tend toward "bleak," "frozen," and "scarce." That's why Georgia's rich culinary traditions often come as a surprise to visitors, who tend to expect something more, well, proletarian.

Georgia's government has been working hard to shift foreigners' expectations about the nation's cuisine and to promote it as a "must-taste" destination for food and wine tourists through participation in international tourism and wine fairs, wine tastings, and distribution of plenty of swag. Yet as a small country with a big (and much better-known) bear on its back, it's an uphill battle. The fact that Georgia shares its name with a U.S. state further complicates matters in North America.

Not surprisingly, most international visitors to Georgia come from the neighboring countries of Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Ukraine. Georgia's National Tourism Administration (GNTA) has focused its marketing efforts thus far on slightly farther-flung places with which Georgia has direct flight connections, particularly in Europe and Israel. Teona Nanava, chief specialist in the brand development department of the GNTA, told me in a conversation late last year that they hope to expand their presence in the U.S. soon.

Saturday, May 16, 2015

World Economic Forum assesses Georgia’s travel & tourism competitiveness

16.05.2015. Georgia has been ranked in the top three countries in the region for being a tourism-friendly country.

Georgia placed 71st out of 141 countries in the latest Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report released by the World Economic Forum.

Spain topped the list of the most tourist-friendly countries, followed by France and Germany while Guinea and Chad were at the bottom of the list.

Regionally Turkey was found to be the most travel-friendly country with a ranking of 44th, followed by Russia in 45th place then Georgia in 71st place. Azerbaijan gained 84th place, Armenia came 89th and Iran placed 97th. Georgia ranked ahead of Egypt and Israel.

Georgia gained a score of 3.7 in the travel and tourism competitiveness pillar, the index was expressed using a scale of 1-7, where 1 was the worst and 7 was the best, across 90 indicators. The report assessed 141 economies.

Georgia ranked 32nd best in the world for its business environment, with a score of 4.9. Georgia also placed 32nd for business safety and security with its higher score of 6.0.

In terms of health and hygiene, Georgia placed 31st of 141 surveyed countries with a score of 6.1, which was the country’s best result in the whole report.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

French Compagnie de Vichy to invest in Georgian spa resort of Tskaltubo

28.04.2015. The French Compagnie de Vichy, owner of the Vichy Spa Hotel Les Celestins, expressed interest in Tskaltubo Spa Resort project - Prime Minister said in  Tskaltubo where he familiarized with  Cold Lake infrastructure.

According to Irakli Garibashvili, Tskaltubo is a unique, internationally recognized resort and the government has developed a  long-term resort development plan.

According to him, investor interest in Tskaltubo is growing every day.

Prime Minister instructed the  Partnership Fund (PF) to study  the prospects of Tskaltubo development  and announced expression of interest for a number of investment projects.

The government's press service reports that in the frames of  the  Tskaltubo rehabilitation project, small-size buildings were  built in the area of Cold Lake as well as   the irrigation system  was arranged, green cover was updated and cleaned on the territory of the central park and Cold Lake.


    Georgian Wine Catalogue      
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Friday, April 24, 2015

Let tourists arrive and Georgia thrive!

24.04.2015. The contribution of tourism to world gross domestic product (GDP) is just 3%, and the economies of countries where tourism accounts for a big share of the GDP often perform poorly. The most notorious case is Greece, where in 2011 tourism generated 18% of GDP ($15 billion dollars in absolute terms), and whose economy is, as everyone knows, totally on the skids. Another example is Spain – while being struck disastrously by the European economic crisis, the country can boast the second highest tourism revenues in the world, amounting to $60.4 billion dollars in 2013 (or about 6% of Spanish GDP).

Even if one disregards that tourism-centered economies are often weak, the absolute size of the tourism contributions are not that impressive. Economists typically talk about billions of dollars, sometimes about trillions, like astronomers talk about light years – so what the heck is so exciting about $60.4 billion? In 2012, the Spanish telecommunications provider Telefonica, one single company, generated revenues of about $85 billion, almost $25 billion more than Spain’s entire tourism sector. And this turnover was generated with just 275,000 employees, whereas 2 million Spaniards are working in tourism. Interpreting these numbers is hazy, because we do not know what value is added by the Telefonica personnel (portions of the revenues, both in tourism and in telecommunications, account for preliminary products), but there can be no doubt that production (and hence average incomes) in telecommunications are much higher than in tourism.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Greek low-cost airline Ellinair announces Georgia flights

23.04.2015. New flights from Georgia to some of the world’s most exotic destinations are ahead as more airline companies pledge to enter the Georgian aviation market.

Several low-cost airlines recently announced to begin flights into and out of Georgia; first Pegasus Airlines of Turkey and today Ellinair of Greece.

The Greek low-cost airline said it would begin flights to Georgia from June 8, allowing passengers to use the Georgia-Greece route once per week.

Ellinair, based at Macedonia International Airport, addressed Georgia’s Civil Aviation Agency on April 7, 2015 and asked permission to launch direct flights between Georgia and Greece.

Meanwhile, after the winter season break, Israel’s Israir Airlines has returned to the Georgian air market. The company’s first flight this summer season was performed on April 2 between Tbilisi and Tel Aviv, Israel. The arriving flight to Georgia, an A320 aircraft, brought 174 passengers to Tbilisi – all of whom were tourists, announced Georgia’s Ministry of Economy.

London fair showcases traditional Georgian food, wine

22.04.2015. Londoners interested in tasting food from foreign lands are invited to attend a special fair in central London this weekend.

The Duke of York Square Saturday Market is hosting an event called Taste Georgia on Saturday, which will offer Georgian national wine, traditional meals such askhinkali, khachapuri and bread baked in a circular clay oven called tone.

"Go along and learn more about unique Georgian food and wine and taste some of the traditional Georgian dishes in pop-up restaurants,” said the British Embassy in Tbilisi in a statement.

Taste Georgia will start at 10am and continue until 6pm. The event is being organised by Enterprise Georgia in cooperation with the British Georgian Chamber of Commerce, Georgia’s Embassy to the United Kingdom and the British Embassy in Tbilisi.

As well as tasting Georgian food and wine, visitors will also be able to talk with Georgia’s British population and learn more about the ancient country and culture.


    Georgian Wine Catalogue      
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Monday, April 13, 2015

“Unsung corner of the planet”: Georgia in National Geographic's list of best tours

13.04.2015. The National Geographic published list of Best Tours in Europe in its Traveler Magazine's 2015 Tours of a Lifetime. Along with Italy, France, Croatia, Switzerland, Scotland, and others, the list also includes Georgia - particularly Alaverdi, Kakheti region.

"Monks at the ancient Alaverdi Monastery still ferment wine the way their order has for a millennium, in earthenware vessels buried in the ground. Taste the fruits of their labor on a culinary odyssey led by Max Johnson, the travel outfitter’s founder, whose passion for this unsung corner of the planet is contagious", - the article in The National Geographic reads.

Georgian Economy minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili discussed this news with the media. “I want to share some very good news with you... The decision to include Georgia into the top tourism destinations has already been made by the National Geographic Traveler and in my opinion this will help Georgia to develop its tourism industry and to improve the country’s image among world travellers.”

National Geographic Traveler is a magazine that launched in 1984 by the National Geographic Society in the United States. It is one of the most popular travel media in the world and is published in 20 countries in ten languages.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Hilton: Georgia needs a 5-year tourism development plan

Interview with Stuart Nelson, General Manager at Hilton Batumi

What are your expectations after the opening of the “Hilton“  hotel  in Batumi ? What are your plans in this regard?

I would be happy to say that after the opening of the hotel will be able to rest, but alas, it will not work – we will continue to develop, conduct training, correct any flaws with one main purpose – to meet the needs of our guests, and even exceed them.

Batumi and  Georgia as a whole  is a very good new market for “Hilton”. In Georgia, there are a lot of very positive and interesting traditions – hospitality, wine, delicious cuisine, so we will do everything in order to develop them, so that a new and exciting time awaits us.

We have a lot of plans, but still I cannot talk about them in detail. For example, we intend to open a Georgian restaurant, the products for which we’ll  buy from local farmers.

And it is  just the beginning.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Wizz Air in-flight magazine features Georgian wine

05.04.2015 (Hvino News). WIZZ is the in-flight magazine published by Hungarian airline Wizz Air. In its recent issues WIZZ Magazine published articles related to Georgia: "Georgia: Here Wine Lives" (in February's issue) and "Georgia is on our minds" (in April's issue).

The article on Georgian wine by Sarah May Grunwald reads: "It's at the Georgian table that travelers truly experience Georgian culture. It's the link they share today with their Neolithic ancestors. Drinking Georgian wine is remembering our collective past".

The article, marked as promotion, is important for reaching to the passengers of Wizz Air - the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe. Readership of its in-flight magazine is assessed as up to 2.8 million readers, for every issue. WIZZ Magazine is placed onboard flights to more than 96 destinations on more than 300 routes.

Wizz Air serves several flights connecting Georgia's Kutaisi airport with East European cities, including Budapest, Vilnius, and Kiev.

© Hvino News

    Georgian Wine Catalogue      
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Monday, March 30, 2015

"The New York Times": Mountains, monasteries and plenty of wine

by Genevieve Helliwell

30.03.2015. In recent edition of  The New York Times, self-described ‘Frugal Traveler’ Seth Kugel has written about his unique experience in Georgia – from his stay with a local guesthouse to sampling Georgian wine from traditional qvevri (clay pots), eating an abundance of delicious food and being taken on personal tours visiting monasteries and vineyards in Georgia’s Kakheti wine region.

Published in the Travel section of The New York Times online and print editions, Kugel’s piece lovingly describes the friendliness of the Georgian people, the magnificence of ancient churches and the affordability of his Georgian adventure – essential for any frugal traveler, he says.
My visit to Georgia was in the off-season — often a great way to save, of course. But it turns out that the ancient Christian land and former Soviet republic is an amazingly cheap place to go year-round, perfect for frugal travelers who like their bumpy bus rides to end with quality meals and private rooms. With that you get the mountain villages, historic towns, centuries-old monasteries, an intriguing cuisine and lots of good, affordable wine (often less than $10 for a decent bottle on restaurant menus).”
Source

    Georgian Wine Catalogue      
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Friday, March 20, 2015

"Travel Weekly": Drinking in Georgia's rustic charms

by Felicity Long

20.03.2015. You would never have known it was 3 a.m. in Georgia's Tbilisi Airport when our Lufthansa plane landed. Flights were arriving and departing, passport control was packed and the airport was brightly lit.

In fact, most air service in and out of Georgia takes place in the middle of the night, and locals are clearly used to these arrivals, for, like the airport, the Holiday Inn Tbilisi was fully staffed and busy when I checked in.

Admittedly, these quirky arrival times, along with a few other drawbacks we encountered in the days to follow such as long stretches of roads without basic amenities and an unsophisticated tourism infrastructure, could be an issue for the casual or inexperienced Europe visitor.

For the right traveler, however, these inconveniences are minor in return for what Georgia has to offer: ancient castles and churches as beautiful as anything in Italy and France, but without the crowds; a wine culture of increasing international renown; a stellar cuisine; and a warm reception from locals, who seem to have hospitality in their DNA.

"We know this is an unusual trip," said Max Johnson, founder and head of product development for the Great Canadian Travel Co., which, together with the Georgian National Tourism Administration and Living Roots, an inbound travel company, arranged the itinerary.

"We know travel agents may have only one or two clients who are looking for new, interesting programs like this, and we focus on them," he said.

Wine culture

The biggest draw for most of us, and the reason Georgia is slowly making its way onto mainstream radar, is its wine, which we sampled during a prelunch wine tasting at Vino-Underground, a wine cellar in Tbilisi.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Georgian Airways to resume flights to Saint Petersburg, Samara and Vladikavkaz

19.03.2015. Georgian Airways plans to resume direct flights to Saint Petersburg, Samara and Vladikavkaz in April-May. A related bid was sent to the Civil Aviation Agency of Georgia, TASS reports.According to preliminary information, flights to Samara will be made four times a week, to Saint Petersburg two times a week, to Vladikavkaz once a week.Georgian Airways says that flights to Saint Petersburg and Samara were of high demand in the past

Georgian Airways plans to resume direct flights to Saint Petersburg, Samara and Vladikavkaz in April-May. A related bid was sent to the Civil Aviation Agency of Georgia.

According to preliminary information, flights to Samara will be made four times a week, to Saint Petersburg two times a week, to Vladikavkaz once a week.

Georgian Airways says that flights to Saint Petersburg and Samara were in high demand in the past.

Source

    Georgian Wine Catalogue      
 To add this Search Box to your website,  click  here. Many designs are available.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Georgia's Mestia among "50 Unpredictable And Non-Clichéd Places To Travel To"

18.03.2015 (Hvino News). The Elite Daily website published a list of "50 Unpredictable And Non-Clichéd Places To Travel To In Your 20-s". Mestia from the mountainous region of Svaneti is one of the destinations mentioned in the Elite Daily's list.

“Mestia is an isolated town located in Northern Georgia, but it’s completely worth the visit. Drink Georgian wine, hike to a glacier, mingle with the locals and experience the epic beauty of the Caucasus mountains”, this is how the website describes the place. ....The hidden gems of the world are becoming hot spots for tourists — so all the more reason to visit these places sooner rather than later", - noted the author John Haltiwanger.

Among other "non-clichéd" places to travel, Elite Daily lists Yerevan (Armenia) and Kazan (Russia).

Elite Daily proclaims itself to be the voice of so-called Generation-Y (people born after 1980). Founded in 2012, this news website quickly reached  huge popularity of 40 million monthly unique visitors.

© Hvino News

    Georgian Wine Catalogue      
 To add this Search Box to your website,  click  here. Many designs are available.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Georgia beckons Malaysian travellers

14.03.2015. Although Malaysians are not well aware of the tourism potential of Georgia, a former Soviet Union state, its charge d’affaires ad interim Levan Machavariani is optimistic that a slew of tourism-related programmes to be held this year will entice more Malaysians to visit the country.

He said last year, Georgia received over five million foreign visitors, more than its population of 4.5 million, but only about 700 Malaysians visited the country.

“Last year, we had a little over 700 Malaysian visitors coming to Georgia, which was actually an increase in comparison to the previous years, but I believe it can be further improved and we are working towards it,” he told in a recent interview held at the news agency’s headquarters.

To entice Malaysians to visit Georgia, which is home to over 10,000 monuments of archeology, history, architecture and art since two million years ago, the embassy has planned a number of events including taking part in the European (Europe) Cinema under the European Union National Institute for Culture (EUNIC) project and in International Cinema Festival to be held in Kota Kinabalu in June.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Georgian wine heritage presentation at Berlin travel show

13.03.2015 (Hvino News) On March 7 the Georgian wine heritage presentation was held at ITB Berlin - the world’s leading travel show. Unique qvevri wine-making method, prehistoric wine artifacts, as well as longest and unbroken wine culture facts were presented by Davit Jishkariani, member of Georgian Wine Club. The event was supported by Georgian Experience and Georgian National Travel Agency. Presentation was followed by tasting of  Alaverdi Monastery wines.

ITB visitors, wine tourism professionals as well as students from Faculty of Tourism studies at University Primorska (Slovenia) attended the event.

"Interest was quite high, especially from the tourism management students from Primorska University. Generally, we should better promote our unique wine tourism potential", - noted Davit Jishkariani.

© Hvino News

    Georgian Wine Catalogue      
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Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Georgia’s wine region twins with Egypt’s Luxor

11.03.2015. Kakheti - Georgia’s oldest region and the homeland of Georgian wine has formed a close bond with the Egyptian city of Luxor, which was once the capital of the nation.

An agreement to recognize Kakheti and Luxor as twin regions, which emphasized bilateral collaboration in tourism, cultural and agricultural sectors, was signed yesterday.

Luxor, formerly an ancient Egyptian capital, is today known as the world's greatest open-air museum. The area boasts a range of historic scenery and ancient temples including the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, the majestic temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor, and various cruises along the Nile.

The Egyptian side noted thousands of tourists from all around the world arrive annually to visit these monuments, contributing greatly to the economy of the modern city.

Meanwhile Georgia’s eastern Kakheti region is the country’s top wine-producing region.

Kakheti is also rich in history and was an independent or semi-independent kingdom for long periods. With lots of historical places and beautiful churches, castles and mansions, Kakheti is an attractive destination, said the Georgian side.

Source

    Georgian Wine Catalogue      
 To add this Search Box to your website,  click  here. Many designs are available.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Georgia takes action to attract more Chinese visitors

10.03.2015. Developing tourism between Georgia and China is in focus at a meeting between representatives of the two countries today.

Georgia’s Vice Prime Minister and Economy Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, who is paying a working visit to China, met the chairman of China’s National Tourism Administration Li Jinzao earlier today.

There Kvirikashvili said Georgia wanted to create more opportunities to develop Georgia-China tourism, and to do this, the country would prepare the special offers for Chinese tourism operators.

"We will design special financial packages that will contribute to tourism development between Georgia and China. Georgia uses the same mechanisms for Kutaisi International Airport, which aims to support Wizz Air Hungary airlines flights,” Kvirikashvili said.

The sides also discussed the possibility of developing direct flights between Georgia and China.