A vacancy has been announced for the position of Head of Tourism Administration of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development.  The last date for submitting applications was December 4, and at this stage more than 30 people expressed their desire to occupy the said position.

 By the end of 2023, it should be found out who will occupy this post (initially, the probationary period of the head of the tourism administration is set for 6 months).

The decision of the competition commission will be considered accepted if it is supported by more than half of the members present at the meeting.  In case of equal division of votes, the vote of the chairman of the session is considered decisive.

Giorgi Chkhaidze is one of those who submitted his candidacy and presented his vision of tourism development.

 - Mr. Giorgi, you are one of those who want to take the position of the head of the tourism administration.  Before we get to know the program, tell us based on what experience and for what purpose you want it for?

- I have been in the field of tourism for 7 years.  I own a hotel and wine shops.  My hotel "Wine Palace" in Tbilisi has the highest rating on the Booking website - 9. 6. I have 2 wine shops in the capital - "Brand Wine", where About 1500 names of alcoholic beverages are presented.

My family has been engaged in viticulture and winemaking for a long time, and we ourselves produce several types of wine.  I will also tell you that my parents, as well as my grandparents, worked in the field of transportation and served our country for many years.  I also graduated from the Faculty of Transport of the Technical University with a red diploma - I am an engineer by profession.  I also graduated from the Faculty of Law of Ivane Javakhishvili University.  I am a candidate of technical sciences, associate professor. I am also a former athlete in judo and sambo.  I had a lot of success in this field as well, I wrestled, I won the title of champion among young people in the Georgian national team, I was a prize-winner of the European Championship, second and third place holder, and a three-time winner of the Pan American Games in the national sambo team and world champion among young people.  I left the sport in 2004.  I have a wife and four children.

- What do you think should be the priority?

- I think that the National Tourism Administration should be led by an experienced staff well-versed in the tourism sector, who, along with many other details, should be familiar with the activities of the hotel business.  This is a tюsensituve area that definitely needs both constant action and development.  At least once in two months, the meetings of the management and those,who invilved in the tourism sector (hotel owners, guides) should be held and the problems should be discussed in a dialogue mode.

I also believe that we should periodically invite the heads of tourism administrations of neighboring countries to Georgia and let each of them share their experience with each other.

I think the new head should ensure such meetings and have constant communication with both local and foreign representatives of this field, which, unfortunately, is not happening until now.

I think the program which I have developed is focused on the development of this field and solving issues, and if I am elected, I will try to do more than possible.

In general, I have been working on a long-term program of tourism development for several years, and along with my work experience, I have been constantly updating and modernizing it, due to the fact that the world is changing very quickly and the standards that the field of modern tourism must meet are also undergoing significant adjustments.

The global crises (pandemic, war) that have unfolded in recent years have dealt heavy blows to international tourism, including tourism in Georgia, therefore, our task is to adequately respond to these challenges and to be able to adapt to the existing reality.  I believe that such crises cannot be ruled out in the future, and tourism should be prepared for this by increasing sustainability and establishing a flexible system.

Below are some of my views about those strategically important destinations, which are an integral part of the development and success of tourism.

I would like the community working in the field of tourism and all fans of this field to familiarize themselves with my program below:

Increasing resilience to crises

First of all, I believe that in the era of modern large-scale crises, which are expected to occur in the future, tourism must develop certain immunity, resilience and the ability to quickly adapt to new realities in order to be able to survive.

The period of the covid pandemic hit global tourism, including, of course, Georgian tourism, a deep crisis arose, the consequences of which have not been fully neutralized to this day - absolutely all sectors of tourism suffered and many tourist facilities were closed all over the world and millions of people lost their jobs.

Similar crises are expected in the future and our task is not to allow such catastrophic results.

International experts are still looking for a solution, and I believe that one of the important directions in this regard would be the development of domestic tourism.  In the event that international travel and international shipments are periodically disrupted, the tourism sector will be able to temporarily cope with the crisis and survive the most difficult period under the conditions of active domestic tourism.

I believe that Georgia's potential in this regard has not been used effectively and there are many opportunities to encourage domestic tourism.

There are many people in our country who have not been to all corners of their homeland, even though they have a great interest in this. Therefore, it is necessary for the field of tourism to pay a lot of attention to offer packages adjusted to the modern reality (economically) to Georgian consumers, so that they become interested in traveling to the regions of Georgia.

I am sure that we can achieve tangible progress in this regard in the near future if we make appropriate efforts.

Infrastructure development

The next important topic that I would like to focus on is the future development of the tourism infrastructure and the elimination of the shortcomings that exist today.

In this regard, I consider one of the primary tasks to be the creation of a modern toilet system throughout the country.  In recent years, I have had direct contact with many guests and tourists, and one of the most serious problems they name is the lack of easily accessible and comfortable toilets.

In this regard, steps need to be taken urgently and I believe that appropriate efforts and investments should be spent on this.  We should study the international practice, take into account the existing reality and make a balanced decision, which will be focused on the result in the shortest possible time.

In addition, I believe that when it comes to improving the infrastructure, the lack of modern and comfortable transportation is also a relevant topic.

This is felt in the realization of tour packages that are intended for domestic trips and first of all in mountainous areas, where the role of modern and comfortable vehicles is immeasurably higher.

It is on such difficult routes that special equipment is needed, designed for such terrain, which will guarantee the safe and prompt transportation of tourist groups.

 Offer of new original packages

 I also consider the creation and offer of new and original tourist packages to potential tourists as an important factor in the development of tourism in Georgia - for example, I am talking about the creation of integrated mountain-sea or mountain-flat packages that will give tourists a unique opportunity to visit completely different geographical and climatic locations in short  time and at low cost.

I think that in this regard, Georgia has unique relief and geographical opportunities that are not yet fully used.

If we talk about geographical factors, I think it would also be interesting to create a single Caucasian tour package that would allow a tourist to visit all three states of the South Caucasus: Georgia-Armenia-Azerbaijan within one visit.

The expansion of the geographical area and the creation of a unified system would be a completely new word in modern Georgian tourism, and I am sure that this would attract a lot of tourists of various tastes.

New prospects will emerge in cooperation with the tourism industry of our neighboring countries, and I believe that there are great prospects for cooperation in this regard.

New original packages offer

I also consider the creation and offering of new and original tourist packages to potential tourists to be an important factor in the development of tourism in Georgia - for example, I am talking about the creation of integrated mountain-sea or mountain-bar packages, which will give tourists a unique opportunity to visit completely different geographical and climatic regions in a short time and at low cost.  on locations.

I think in this regard, Georgia has unique relief and geographical opportunities, which are not yet fully utilized.

When we talk about geographical factors, I think it would also be interesting to create a single Caucasian tour package that would allow a tourist to visit all three states of the South Caucasus: Georgia-Armenia-Azerbaijan within one visit.

Increasing the geographical area and creating a unified system would be a completely new word in modern Georgian tourism, and I am sure it would attract a lot of tourists of different tastes.

New prospects will open up in cooperation with the tourism industry of our neighboring countries, and I believe that there are great prospects for cooperation in this regard.

 Expanding opportunities for agritourism

Another critically important area is agritourism - the practice of recent years shows that the demand for this specific tourism product in Georgia is large and growing.

Based on my practice, almost every third tourist I talked to is looking for suitable places for agritourism - they want to have direct contact with Georgian reality: live in the regions, in the countryside, close to the land, nature and animals.

I can say that almost 30 percent of tourists show interest in this segment and are looking for appropriate offers and packages.  The reality is that demand outstrips supply, and there is a lot of work to be done in this regard, which will open up completely new perspectives.

By developing agritourism, we help agriculture and, accordingly, the country's economy, at the same time we slow down or completely stop the process of emptying regions.  Locals will be more interested in continuing farming activities and producing ecologically clean products that will satisfy the local market.

Conclusion

The directions listed above are only a part, although they are the most important directions of the overall development of tourism.  Our main task is to be able to modernize our tourism potential in general and adapt it to the new realities that are creating and periodically changing.

Making quick, balanced and effective decisions, focusing on results are the necessary conditions that will allow us to be competitive on an international scale.

Our tourism must be innovative, flexible, responsive and smart in order not only to maintain its current position, but also to further strengthen and expand the geographical area from which tourists will come to Georgia.

Georgian tourism should be oriented towards all segments and should offer interesting travel packages to both high-income and low-income tourists.  There are all conditions for this, it is necessary to develop the right approaches and hard work, which will definitely give us the desired results in the future.

Author: Ana Kalandadze

(R)

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