Chairman of National Tourism Agency held a briefing at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development. Maia Sidamonidze gave a report about the tendencies of tourism development, employment in the sector, development dynamics and future plans.

Maia Sidamonidze noted that tourism plays an important role in terms of employment, development of small and medium businesses, infrastructure and increasing export revenues worldwide.As reported,over 235 million people work in tourism industry, which is 8% of total employment.

Maia Sidamonidze alsosaid according to the evaluation of UNWTO, Georgia is remarkable for its growth of foreign tourists visiting the country. Such an increase of tourists in the country forces the development of infrastructure and service, thus creating additional jobs.

The attractive investment climate attracts trans-national companies to the country; as a result, new hotels and restaurants are constructed and entertainment industry is developing. The Chairman also presented statistical data to the media: 45896 citizens were employed in tourism industry in 2009, whereas in 2011, the number increased to 60982. Moreover, after completing several projects, this number will increase by several thousand by the end of the year.

Source: www.rustavi2.com