The National Tourism Administration of Georgia positively assesses the year of  2015. According to the Head of the Administration George Chogovadze, the final results of the year has not yet been announced, but there is every reason to believe that it will be  record by a number of tourists arriving in the country.

In his words, work to attract tourists will continue in 2016, in particular, one of the activities in this direction will be the International Wine Conference which will be held under the auspices of the World Tourism Organization.

"We all remember that the year began with a decrease in the number of tourists due to  tensions in the region, the war in Ukraine, the devaluation of the national currency in the countries from which the main flow  of tourists is coming. Our main goal was to overcome this decline. After the first statistical data, we have analyzed the reasons for the decline in tourism activity and began to look for the means to overcome them. Crisis Management Council was established to developed concrete steps to improve the situation.

 In particular, emphasis was placed on the growth of international activity in search of new markets and the improvement in the existing ones.

During the year a lot of activities have been  carried out to attract tourists. In particular, during the year we have taken up to 400 journalists from around the world who have prepared stories, TV programs, documentaries, articles and blogs about the tourism potential of Georgia "- he says.

The Head of the Administration notes that  the active marketing campaign to attract tourists in the winter resorts in Georgia began in the fall and  cost GEL 11 million.

He notes that  in general, over the past 11 months of 2015 the number of foreign tourists increased in comparison with the same period in 2014 by 7%, that is a very good indicator.

  "This figure is in line with our forecast, and by 2025 the number of visitors to Georgia will grow to 11 million. Tourism Administration is constantly working on the development of new markets.

We plan to actively work to increase the number of tourists in 2016. In particular, a special department focused on various trainings is functioning at the Administration  which will allow to  improves the quality of service, and this in turn will make Georgia's tourism industry more competitive. It will also lead to an increase in interest from investors, which will contribute to the further development of tourism in the country.

According to data for two quarters,  in 2015 revenues from international tourism amounted to $ 766 million which is 3% more than in the same period of 2014. According to the data for 10 months , the use of  foreign payment cards in Georgia has  increased by 25%, and during this period GEL 1, 2 billion have been cashed that is 243 million more than in the same period in 2014, "- George  Chogovadz notes.
 

According to him, in 2016 the administration will continue its core activities.

"Overall, 2016 will be very active as many projects aimed at the development of both international and domestic tourism will be carried out," - George Chogovadze points out.

Source:commersant.ge