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Tourism soaring in Georgia says end 2013 report



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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