The Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA) released its 2013 report with excellent results.
More than 180,000 people are employed
in the Georgian tourism sector, focusing on tourism development at the regional
level, service improvement, and small-to-medium-sized businesses.
In 2013, 5 million people visited
Georgia (a record for a single year). Tourism accounts for 7.3% of Georgia’s annual
Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Visitor numbers have been on the increase since
2009 (with 1.5 million visitors).
In the first six months of 2013,
travellers added USD$729 million, with a total of $3 billion expected to be the
end-of-year figure. In 2012, the revenue from tourism was 29% more than in 2011,
so the 2013 is expected to be more. Successful campaigns in targeted markets
produced the following results: a 15% increase in tourists from Azerbaijan, 11%
from Latvia, 59% from Ukraine, and 42% increase from Russia.
In fact, the 5 millionth visitor, a
citizen from Poland, arrived on December 1, 2013 at 4:00pm, and was rewarded
with gifts and a certificate from GNTA. This included free nights accommodation
in Tbilisi and Kazbegi. The visitor was a member of the judging panel of the Tbilisi
International Film Festival.
The World Tourism Report cited Georgia
as a star performer, with the highest tourism growth of any country, in the
past year to June 2013, at 22% growth in terms of all factors (number of
visitors, income, and other parameters).
GNTA has launched a new tourist
portal (www.georgia.travel) on a trial basis which provides potential
visitors with information and possible travel routes, hotel and air bookings, as
well as the ability to create travel diaries and share photographs. A 24-hour free
tourist hotline has also been launched. Once in Georgia, foreign and local travellers
can receive information on the 0800 800 909 hotline. All tourists at every port
of entry are given a card with the hotline number on it (which I can confirm
because I received my card at the passport checkpoint, slipped into my
passport).
The construction of new Tourism
Information Centres has almost completed in Tbilisi (to be opened in January),
Martvili, and Chkhorotskhu. In 2014, centres will be opened in Bakuriani,
Kazbegi, Zugdidi, and Poti. From January 2014, taxi drivers can take English
classes for free, enabling them to display a signboard to indicate that they
speak conversational English.
For 2014, with a doubling of the
budget for the tourism sector, the focus will be on: (1) positioning the
country within specific markets, (2) developing tourism infrastructure, and (3)
improving service quality. It also aims to refine the way it collects tourism
statistics – such as, who entered, what they bought, how long they stayed, what
they liked, how much they spent, and hotel occupancy rates.
The winter tourist season for 2014 opened
from December 2013 in Mestia, Bakuriani, and Gudauri – all winter skiing
resorts - with alpine skiing events and entertainment.
MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), 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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