"Forbes": Georgia's Tourism Strategy is Starting to Pay Off

by Stephan Rabimov

04.10.2017. Georgia takes its tourism seriously, very seriously. Just ask Jesper Black. When the Dutch tourist landed at Tbilisi International Airport becoming the country’s six millionth visitor in 2016 he was whisked away in a Mercedes sedan for a red carpet welcome and private dinner with Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili. The agency behind the campaign to mark the country’s milestone even created a website for Georgians to vote on which national dish should be served to the six millionth tourist, khinkali dumplings or chkmeruli chicken?

Clearly having jumped from 2.8 million visitors in 2011 to six million in 2016 is a big deal in this former Soviet Republic situated between Europe, Russia and the Middle East. And suddenly it feels as if it’s on every traveler’s radar. In 2015, Georgia ranked 25th on the New York Times’ 52 Places to Go. New flight routes have launched from cities around Europe and this year Georgia made Conde Nast Traveler’s list of hottest upcoming wine destinations.

"The Telegraph" (UK): Casinos, craft beer and holy caves – is this Europe's most surprising country?

by  Liz Dodd

08.09.2017. Georgia’s splendid food, breathtaking nature and rich culture have long made it a sought-after destination for adventurous travellers. But the country - which this year opened up to British travellers with new direct flights from Gatwick to the capital Tbilisi (courtesy of Georgian Airways) - has far more to offer than khachapuri and red wine. Thriving amidst its Orthodox Christian cathedrals and farmsteads is a culture of gourmet coffee, clubbing and casinos. Where else could you dance the night away in a Soviet-era sewing factory, then recover on a tropical beach or in a cool mountain cave town? Here are seven surprising reasons you should go to Georgia.

1. You can visit Europe's most zany seaside town

Georgia’s Black Sea coast enjoys a bizarre, subtropical microclimate that feels more like Bali than Belarus. The best place to soak it all in is Batumi, an enticingly zany seaside town where casinos and skyscrapers - one with a Ferris Wheel stuck to the front - pop up in the middle of its lovingly renovated 19th-century boulevards. Just outside town the Botanical Gardens carpet the hillside with palm trees and plants from South America, Mexico and south-east Asia. In summer it can be suffocatingly humid and thunderstorms are frequent, so pack a raincoat alongside your swimwear.