Tourism in Signaghi, Georgia

The Kakheti Region is an agricultural, wine region in south-east Georgia, bordering Azerbaijan. It also borders Russia to the north. It consists of eight administrative districts: Akhmeta, Gurjaani, Dedoplistskaro, Telavi, Lagodekhi, Sagarejo, Signaghi, and Kvareli, with Telavi as the administrative center. I visited Sagarejo, Signaghi and Lagodekhi.

Sagarejo is one hour east of the capital, Tbilisi. Limestone is extracted here and oil and gas deposits have also been discovered. Preliminary estimates put the oil reserves at 2-7 million tons. At present, 260 tons of oil is extracted per day. It is predominantly a farming district. After the Soviet-influenced “collective” farming, the farmers in the region have strongly moved toward “individual” farming. However, the farming and irrigation systems have been run down and damaged.

The town of Signaghi has great tourism potential but the development of this sector is hindered by the poor local infrastructure, including the lack of good hotels. The American government, as part of rural business development, upgraded guesthouses to meet Georgian Department of Tourism standards. Signaghi, a small town (population about 2,000) is heavily reliant on wine production and tourism. However, there are few tourists. There are many houses for sale, indicative of a downturn in the economy, particularly since the global financial crisis. There was a branch of the Tbilisi University in Signaghi, but it closed recently, with a loss of 300 students.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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