Caucasus Business Week #155

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July 25, 2016 #155

July 25, 2016, Issue 155 - www.cbw.ge

Healthcare Pre-election Promises

by Political Parties – How to Improve the Healthcare System Pg. 11

Development New Director of Archi Group Plans to Strengthen Leading Positions Pg. 8

Startup WoDoo Colorful Handmade Crafts Delivering its Own design niche

Turkey

Pg. 9

Problems with EU Entrance Visa Issuance In the last period public discontent is growing because of serious problems with receiving EU entrance visas. Public discontent has also broken out in the social network.

Mariam Kukunashvili, founder of New Life Global Network center of surrogation, describes the current problems at the Italian Embassy in details. This is the next case when the Italian Embassy has not satisfied the businesswoman’s application for EU entrance visa, despite she meets all criteria published on the embassy website.

Mariam Kukunashvili: “This is not the first case, when I face problems at the embassy. I had multiyear visas for European countries for more than 10 years.

I visit many European countries throughout a year and I need these visas. I took the previous two-year visa from Italian Embassy.

COUP

Pg. 7

Popularity of Online Casinos Acquires Hazardous Scales

Problems in Main Partner Country Affects Georgia too Pg. 4

The gambling games business is developed at high paces in Georgia. Following technological progress, gambling business is also widely penetrating various social layers in various geographical locations and so on. Several years ago it was necessary to visit gambling facilities for playing games, but today personal computers with the global Internet connection suffice to sink into the whirlpool of the gambling games without special efforts. As a rule, changes and development of any environment also change the existing legislative frameworks that set “the order” in the environment. Currently, the gambling games sector is regulated by legislation that was adopted in the period, when only several persons had computers in Georgia.

Today, over a half part of Georgian citizens have access to the Internet and today we have an entirely different reality that creates new challenges to online service suppliers, including to the providers of online gambling games.

Pg. 6

2 GOVERNMENT

NEWSROOM Iran looks to increase capacity of internet from Georgia Georgia and Iran are strengthening ties to carry forward millennia-old relations and now in the fields of internet technology and communication.

Fiber-optic Internet Network will be Created in more Than 2000 Cities and Villages “State Program on Broadband Infrastructure Development in Georgia” will be approved during Cabinet session.

ECONOMY

EBRD record investment for Georgia in 2016 EBRD is delivering very strong support for the Georgian economy as investments hit a record high of €325 million in 2016. The rise in financing came after the EBRD and Georgia signed an agreement on providing $155 million to Georgia’s Rustavi Azot LLC.

Major Commodity Groups by Exports and Imports for Georgia IExports of Motor cars totaled USD 75 mln and its share in the total exports amounted to 8 %.

Ferro-alloys occupied the third place. Exports of this commodity group stood at USD 74 mmln and 8 % of the total exports.

BANKING

June Records Growth in Bank Sector’s Profits Fifteen commercial banks of 19 ones ended the first half of 2016 in total profits of 309 million GEL. In June the sector’s profits rose by 38 million GEL. Four commercial banks ended the reporting period in losses

How Much Does the Average Georgian Family Spend Per Year?

In 2015, average household monthly income equaled 1,022 GEL which is 3.9% higher than in 2014. Together with income growth, the volume of expenditure also increased (5%) and amounted to 1,005 GEL.

Georgian Nuts Prices Fell In the past few months purchasing prices of nuts have significantly decreased in Georgia - now they range from GEL 1, 80 to GEL 3, 50 per kilogram depending on their condition and grade.

COMPANY

Georgia’s Kvirikashvili meets Turkey’s Erdogan in Ankara

G

eorgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has met President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

The meeting took place within the frames of Kvirikashvili’s first official visit to Turkey.

“The parties discussed main aspects of the economic relations between Georgia and Turkey,” the PM’s press office said following the meeting.

Erdogan thanked the Georgian leader for the “solid support” demonstrated by the country following the recent unrest in Turkey.

Kvirikashvili reasserted his support to the people of Turkey and expressed his belief that “stable and democratic Turkey is an important guarantee of regional safety”.

Within the visit Kvirikashvili met Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

The Turkish official assessed the visit as a gesture of “great support demonstrated on the part of Geor-

AutoVAZ Going to Exporting Cars to Georgia Russian automaker AutoVAZ is going to start exporting cars to Central Asia through Kazakhstan, reports “Interfax” referring to the head of the automaker Nicolas Mora.

integration processes,” he said.

“However, most important is our success in the bilateral relations,” he added.

Yildirim reasserted Turkey’s support to the Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and underlined that Turkey welcomed Georgia becoming a member of NATO. Kvirikashvili emphasized that close political and economic relations between Georgia and Turkey had transformed into strategic partnership.

Cooperation in the energy sector was also discussed during the meeting.

The sides stressed the importance of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline-related projects. The officials believed that realisation of the South Energy Corridor projects would foster strengthening of energy safety of the countries and provision of additional volumes of energy from the Caspian Sea to the European market.

WHO and World Bank positively assess Georgia’s state healthcare program The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank have positively assessed the progress and achievements of Georgia’s Universal Healthcare Program.

Georgia’s Minister of Healthcare David Sergeenko presented the report the Progress of the Universal Healthcare Program and the International Rating together with the experts from the WHO and the World Bank.

The report revealed Georgian citizens now had better access to healthcare services than before launching the Progam.

The main findings of the research were: • State finances more medical services: 41 percent in 2012 and 95 percent in 2015; • The share of the out-of-pocket health care cost was reduced: 65 percent in 2015 and 57 percent in 2015; • The number of outpatient visits per person declined: 2.3 percent in 2012 and six percent in 2015;

BUSINESS WEEK caucasus

The Editorial Board Follows Press Freedom Principles Publisher: LLC Caucasian Business Week - CBW Address: Aleksidze Street 12 Director: Levan Beglarishvili WWW.CBW.GE

gia”. He also expressed his gratitude that the Georgian PM expressed his firm support to the Turkish people during the very first few hours of the attempted coup. The two officials attended the first session of the HighLevel Strategic Partnership Council that was established to extend relations between Georgia and Turkey.

“The [establishment of the Council] moves our relations to the next level. This visit is very important to us. It is a clear indication of the Georgian people’s support to the Turkish nation in the context of the recent developments that we witnessed,” Yildirim said.

He added prospects of developing the investment potential, planned and future projects as well as historic Silk Road Project were the main conversation topics during the meeting with his Georgian counterpart.

“Turkey and Georgia share historical ties. We have moved to the strategic cooperation level. Our cooperation is also interesting in view of European

VTB Bank Advances in Rating of Billionaire Banks VTB Bank has moved to the 4th position in the rating of billionaire commercial banks.

The bank’s assets in the second quarter rose by 2.8%. The loans portfolio increased by 5.7% quarter on quarter.

BUSINESS

July 25, 2016 #155

Mobile phone: +995 591 013936 Email: caucasianbusiness@gmail.com

•

Hospitalisation per 100 inhabitants: 11.3 percent in 2012 and 12 percent in 2015; • The share of public expenditure on health to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased: 1.8 percent in 2012 and three present in 2015; • Financial protection of the target population – four percent; • Expenditures on healthcare from the state budget also increased – five percent in 2012 and seven percent in 2015.

The research found despite the fact that in the past three years the healthcare budget was increased two-and-a-half times it still remained low compared to other countries in Eastern Europe. It means that we should do our best to pay attention to this issue and further increase the financing of healthcare.

Statistics showed more than 600,000 people – about 17 percent of the population – were using private corporate insurance this year in Georgia.

This is a part of the population with high or average income and the government does not spend money on them, but directs the money to those who have low income, are socially vulnerable or require more support from the government,” said Sergeenko.

He claimed the Government of Georgia will not make changes in the system of the Universal Healthcare Program, however will consider a number of reforms to make it more delicate.

Universal health insurance was one of Georgian Dream coalition’s election promises in 2012. It came into force just a few months after the election, on February 28, 2013. Later in July 1 the program was expanded to also include medical services during pregnancy and treatment for cancer patients. Thanks to the Program the state-sponsored health insurance became available on massive scale.

Editor: Nutsa Galumashvili. Mobile phone: 595 380382 Reporters: Nino Kuparashvili, Lazare Gvimradze; Shiva Parizad.

Designer illustrator: Ilia Chrelashvili. Technical Assistant: Giorgi Kheladze

Source: www.commersant.ge, www.bpi.ge, www.gbc.ge, www.agenda.ge, www.civil.ge

July 25, 2016 #155

PUBLICITY

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ECONO-MIX

July 25, 2016 #155

Turkey

COUP

Problems in Main Partner Country Affects Georgia too MERAB JANIASHVILI

T

he situation in Turkey over the past 2 years could be described as instable. Acts of terrorism shook the peaceful life of Turkish citizens in 2015, while this year the situation was aggravated by attempt of military coup.

Despite the failed coup d’etat, problems are only multiplied in our neighboring southern country. According to the latest information, the government introduced a 90-day state of emergency in the country. Law enforcers are carrying out mass arrests and workers of state offices are being dismissed. Amid the current developments in Turkey, it is natural to ask how may these processes may affect the state economy of Georgia?

In the last period the following opinion dominates in our country: the current problems in Turkey will make positive affect on Georgia’s tourism season. The Turkey-Russian tensions make Georgian citizens and some state officials hopeful that the tourists’ inflow will increase from Russia to Georgia. It is interesting that, according to January-June 2016 indicators, the ratio of Russian tourists in Georgia’s total tourist inflows makes up 15% and in this term Russia comes behind only Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia. The fact is that the Russia-Turkey tensions have not bring positive changes for the Georgian tourism sector. Moreover, the Georgia-Turkey economic relations are deeper and more comprehensive and these relations are not confined by only competition in the tourism sector. We should achieve success in the tourism field by maximal use of our potential and improving the service quality. Therefore, we should not wait that foreign policy problems or domestic tensions in Turkey may bring any beneifts to Georgia.

We remind you that Turkey is one of the major economies in the world. According to the 2015 indicators, country ranks 18th in terms of GDP (in current prices) and 17th in terms of nominal GDP. For example, Georgia ranks 116th in the same fields. Consequently, with huge economy and mighty military force in the Black Sea Region and Europe, Turkey is one of the major strategic partners for Georgia. European identity, Asian traditions and geopolitical location add special importance to Turkey as a partner country.

Turkey has a quite diversified economy. According to the 2015 indicators, transportation and commerce are leading economic fields and their ratio in GDP makes up 34%. However, starting 1998, the ratio of production and agriculture has considerably decreased in GDP. The ratio of production has declined to 19.6% from 24.4% and the agriculture ratio has decreased to 8.6% from 12.9%.

Over the past 10 years, Turkey is a self-sustaining country in terms of food production, and at the same time, it is considered to be an important food exporter country. However, today the Turkish government does not consider agri-

culture a priority direction and main efforts are directed to industrial development and innovative progress.

Turkey is an influential manufacturer of household electric products and equipment. Currently, Turkish company Vestel is a major European manufacturing country of TV sets (Europe occupies 20% in its sales).

Textile industry is one of the important components of the Turkish economy and the field’s ratio in GDP accounts for 7%. It is worth noting that in terms of textile exports Turkey ranks third in EU and 6th all over the world.

Turkey is one of the leaders in terms of shipbuilding and automobile industry. The country ranks 15th all over the world and 6th in Europe among major automobile manufacturing countries. Moreover, Turkey owns its own automobile industry - manufacturing plants of such distinguished brands as Fiat, Renault, Hyundai, Toyota and Honda are located in Turkey.

Turkey has one of the major development sectors in the world. It is worth noting that there are 43 Turkish contractors among Georgia’s 250 contractors. Turkey’s development industry ranks second worldwide after China. Moreover, Turkey’s banking sector is one of the strongest systems in Europe among EU nonmember countries, after Switzerland and Russia, in terms of assets volume.

As to the service field, Turkey is one of the most attractive destinations for tourists. In 2014 due to tourism flows, Turkey occupied the 6th position in terms of tourist inflows worldwide (after France, USA, Spain, China, Italy). About 40 million visitors arrives in Turkey every year. The tourism sector ratio in GDP is over 10% since 2000 and in 2015 the figure totaled 12.9%.

Turkey is Georgia’s one of the major trade partners. Note that currently more than 3 200 Georgia-Turkey joint companies operate in Georgia. According to JanuaryApril indicators 2016, Turkey is Georgia’s second major trade parter after China in terms of exports volume.

Turkey’s ratio in Georgia’s total exports accounts for 10.5%. Moreover, Turkey ranks second among Georgia’s major trade parters in terms of imports volume with 15.3% ratio in Georgia’s total imports volume. (Canada ranked first in terms of imports volume with 15.7%, but it should be noted that this volume of imports was based on increased imports of C Hepatitis medications from Canada).

Since 1996 the ratio of Turkish foreign direct investments was only 7.6% in Georgia’s total investments. At the beginning of 2012, Turkish FDI amount made up 320.8 million USD, 6.01% in total FDI volume. In that period Turkish investments were made in the transportation and communications field.

Over the past years, money transfers from Turkey are

growing and in January-May 2016 the figure made up 7.4% in total volume.

Over the past years Turkey is Georgia’s major partner in not only foreign trade, but also tourism direction. Every year 2.7 million visitors arrive from Turkey to Georgia on average. In January-June 2016 Turkey comes behind Azerbaijan in terms of tourists volume arriving in Georgia.

Anyway, tourist inflows to Georgia from Turkey demonstrates growing tendency and it accounts for 4%. Growth tendency was higher in previous years. The sector was badly affected by recent acts of terrorism and complicated political environment around the country, experts assert.

Power system, gas and oil transportation is one of the major fields for cooperation. At this stage, two main pipelines connect Georgia and Turkey – the South Caucasus natural gas pipeline (known as Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline or Shah-Deniz gas pipeline) and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. This cooperation format makes Georgia a player of important international projects.

In the last period the developments in Turkey made serious affect on the economy of Turkey and supposedly they will affect the region’s countries too. At the same time, the expected threats of totalitarianism also aggravate the existing situation. Note that at the Istanbul stock exchange quotations of Turkey’s major companies have declined.

BIST National-100 index dropped by 2.48%. Shares of Akbank, one of the major commercial banks of Turkey, cheapened by 2.13%. Price of shares of Garanti Bank, second biggest commercial bank, dropped by 3.12%.

Political unrest made major affect on shares of tourism and transportation-logistics companies. For example, the price of Turkish Airlines securities declined by 5.2% at the beginning of trade session. Price of TAV Holding, a Turkish operator of airports, declined by 5.93%, while price of lowcost Pegasus airline decreased by 3.79%.

It is worth noting that the current economic problems in Turkey cannot bring any positive results to Georgia. The Russia-Turkey tensions may redirect the flow of Russian tourists to Georgia, but economic complications in the southern neighboring country will only damage Georgia.

Russian tourists inflow may increase, on the one hand (but this fact is not recorded yet), but investment inflows and money transfers will decline, on the other hand. As a result, Georgia will receive more negative economic affect than expected from growth in inflow of Russian tourists.

Therefore, it is important for Georgia that Turkey ensure stable environment and that we maintain good relations with our southern neighbor.

July 25, 2016 #155

PUBLICITY

GEORGIAN RAILWAY URGES YOU TO CROSS THE RAILWAY TRACK IN ONLY SPECIALLY ALLOTED ZONES AND TAKE CARE OF YOUR LIFE! Crossing the railway track in the unpermitted places violates article 106 of the Georgian Code of Administrative Offences and this lawbreaking results in due sanctions.

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GAMBLING GAMES

July 25, 2016 #155

The gambling games business is developed at high paces in Georgia. Following technological progress, gambling business is also widely penetrating various social layers in various geographical locations and so on. Several years ago it was necessary to visit gambling facilities for playing games, but today personal computers with the global Internet connection suffice to sink into the whirlpool of the gambling games without special efforts.

As a rule, changes and development of any environment also change the existing legislative frameworks that set “the order” in the environment. Currently, the gambling games sector is regulated by legislation that was adopted in the period, when only several persons had computers in Georgia. Today, over a half part of Georgian citizens have access to the Internet and today we have an entirely different reality that creates new challenges to online service suppliers, including to the providers of online gambling games. This is challenge before the state that is responsible for establishing just and modern regulations in this or that field.

The gambling business is a relevant issue in all times. There is no joint position and attitude towards it. It is associated to destruction and failure for many citizens, while another part makes fortune through it. In its nature, gambling games are the way for entertainment, but we will rarely meet people, who plays these games for only entertainment. We do not need much logics and analytical skills to conclude that gambling business is not only entertainment. This business exists and is developed at high paces, this signifies that people predominantly lose money there, not win. This signifies gambling business exists at the expense of lost and failed gamers and only an insignificant part of gamers make benefit from these games (everything depends on the appetite of casinos).

The more the quantity of gambling gamers grows, the more people fail and bear losses. However, the number of winners also grows. Anyway, the whole society fails, because, as noted above, the quantity of losers dramatically grows as compared to winners.

The only mechanism through which the failed society can remunerate its losses consists in taxes that casinos pay to the state budget and that the society receives back in various forms (asphalted roads, pensions and so on). But gambling games cannot bring much benefit even in this respect. The ratio of casino payments in tax revenues is less than 1 %.

Therefore, gambling games continue overwhelming the lives of our citizens in everyday regime. As a result, the number of losing people grows, as well as accompanying negative effects.

However, growth in number of gamers (including underage children) is not an only negative result. Existence and functioning of online casinos also bear additional risks.

We mean money laundering and criminal use of accounts in electronic casinos.

It should be noted that the mentioned shortcomings were outlined by various international organizations several times. Recommendations by FATF and MONEYVAL organizations prove this assertion. These recommendations call for improving personal registration procedures in Internet gambling space.

Under the current practice, registration in online casinos is carried out without any verification of personal information and this gap enables to register unreal and falsified data information, or data information of other persons may be inserted in the registration field.

There are no regulations that would bring order in personal identification environment, where casinos are able to use unreliable methods and where personal information is not verified in practice. For example, some casinos receive the information about a client from the name and personal number inserted in th registration process, while no copy of personal identification document is required to verify whether the name and registered personal number match each other. Moreover, there is no control for prevention of registration of fancy names and personal number. No verification mechanism is used, when clients transfer money to their own casino accounts. Moreover, if a client decides to transfer money to bank account or credit card, personality is not examined and verified.

Recommendations issued by FATF and MONEYVAL call for eradicating these problems, because similar practice comprises hazards of money laundering, financing of terrorism and other illegal activities. Today online casino accounts represent uncontrolled channels of money turnover. Therefore it is necessary to carry out valuable personal identification procedures in the registration process to identify gamers (by real documents) and create protected database.

It should be noted the mentioned system has been established in the developed countries and moreover the Authorities carry out active control so as personal registration in online casinos meet standards and prevent registration of falsified data information.

Thus, registration procedures at online casinos in Georgia does not satisfy international standards. Moreover, similar standards absent and consequently, competent bodies cannot control casinos. Therefore, there are high risks of use of online casino accounts for money laundering and criminal financing. Casino accounts have become alternative system for money transfers and financial flows in this system are not controlled.

July 25, 2016 #155

In the last period public discontent is growing because of serious problems with receiving EU entrance visas. Public discontent has also broken out in the social network.

Mariam Kukunashvili, founder of New Life Global Network center of surrogation, describes the current problems at the Italian Embassy in details. This is the next case when the Italian Embassy has not satisfied the businesswoman’s application for EU entrance visa, despite she meets all criteria published on the embassy website.

Mariam Kukunashvili: “This is not the first case, when I face problems at the embassy. I had multiyear visas for European countries for more than 10 years. I visit many European countries throughout a year and I need these visas. I took the previous two-year visa from Italian Embassy. Consequently, I have the right to request for threeyear visa on condition of numerous visits. Instead of this, they have issued a two-week visa with one-time entrance right. Because of this, all my visits to other countries has been suspended. For example, I had to visit Great Britain and after this I could not return to Italy. Consequently, they have given this one-time visa in vain”, Kukunashvili noted.

The situation worsened after a new consul was appointed at the Italian Embassy, because the new consul makes everybody visit the Embassy several times, Mariam Kukunashvili noted.

“For example, in the previous year, my coworker planned to visit Italy for wedding journey and the consul did not issue a visa to her, but issued visa to her spouse. Naturally, this is a ridiculous fact, even more so this person takes a wage of 1500 USD, while those Georgian citizens, who arrive in Italy for job places, receive only 800 EUR a month. Would this person with a higher wage stay in Italy? Naturally, this is an illogical decision. My parents have also faced problems in the last year. The new consul refused to issue visas to them without substantiation.

Even more so, they had very impressive salary transfers every month, as well as additional financial guarantees from me. The submitted application was confirming that I was taking my parents for trip. In that period I sent

VISA LIBERATION

Problems with EU Entrance Visa Issuance Particular Problems Emerge at Greek and Italian Embassies email to the Consul and marked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a recipient of the letter. The Consul phoned me, brought apologies and told me to submit documents anew. If we do not mention the application submission fee of 150 EUR, it takes much time to collect documents anew. If the Consul is professional, he would guess these aspects. I repeatedly wrote to the Consul and told him what I was going to do in relation to my Facebook status.

I explained to him that he was not to call me, like the previous case, and offer to submit documents repeatedly. I told him that I was waiting for multiyear visa directly. He does not have the right to act in this way”, Kukunashvili said.

Movie critic Gogi Gvakharia also talks about problems that Georgian citizens are facing at embassies of various European countries. According to his information, embassies refuse issuing multiyear visas to reporters, businessmen, doctors and everybody who had three-year Schengen visas in their passports and they issue only oneweek, two-week visas after queues, filling out applications and long queues.

“This happens not because of new emigration policy. Greece, Italy and Span issue 5-year multiyear visas to

Russian citizens. Care for your citizens.

Show interest and explain what happens in reality”, Gvakharia noted.

MP Levan Berdzenishvili also proves that the German Embassy abstains from issuing visas to Georgian citizens. “The German Embassy has issued two-day visa to my assistant, who has graduated Munster University. The parliament of Georgia had asked one-year visa for him”, MP Levan Berdzenishvili noted.

The Caucasus Business Week (CBW) showed interest whether the problem exists in reality and tried to cast light on real grounds of public discontent, but mediator companies, which act as an intermediary chain between applicants and Embassies, could not answer these questions.

They asked to send questions in electronic form, but we have not received answers so far.

Travel companies also recognize real problems. Nata Rukhadze, head of Georgian Travel Group, explained that visa problems genuinely existed, but at this stage, all problems have been tackled. There are no places left physically at the Greek Consulate to receive interested applicants. All places are occupied at the consulate until mid September, Rukhadze noted.

“There is a huge number of applicants and places are limited. If the consular service manages to receive 10 persons a day, in reality 25 applicants stay in queue. And the consulate cannot receive such a quantity of applicants for a day. At the same time, I would like to note that interested bodies who plan to visit Greece or Italy should apply to mediator visa centers or travel companies, because these companies organize not only visa issues, they also sell tours and therefore they can register applicants for visa appointments at the embassy without problems”, Rukhadze noted.

In response to the questions about what factors have intensified demand for Greek and Italian directions and what are grounds for visa refusals, Rukhadze noted that all these problems are supposedly related to the recent instable developments in Turkey.

Rukhadze submitted general statistics of sales and noted that before acts of terrorism Turkey was a leader of sales, but now the situation has radically changed and Greece and Egypt have outrun Turkey. Italy, Spain, Prague are in top five destinations, Rukhadze said.

«It should be also noted that currently people are disoriented and

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they do not know which directions to choose. We expect the sales of Greek tours to further increase. The direction of Egypt will be also intensified.

It is also important that the price of Greek tours is rising because of growing demand», Rukhadze added.

Salome Gorgodze, Good Travel PR manager, also talks about the European directions and the existing problems. There are no places at the Greek Embassy and problems arose because of this factor. As to other Consulates, in the last period the Italian Embassy has tightened visa issuance procedures. “The Consulate requests many additional documents. Not many refusals were made, but we do not know reasons for tightened regulations”, Gorgodze said.

In the last period the sales of Turkey packages were replaced by Egyptian tours. “This direction was not active previously, but now this direction has revived”, Gorgodze explained.

European destinations are also popular, for example, Greece, but it is difficult to make prognosis because of existing problems in the Consulate.

The demand is growing for Italian and Croatian tours.

As to Turkey, the tour packages are being sold in ordinary regime and the country maintains first place in terms of sold packages thanks to very affordable prices and top-quality services, Gorgodze noted.

Intercontinental travel company provides different information. The Greek consulate issues visas without problem, but visa appointment procedures may last for several weeks because of increased demand for this direction, the company head Nino Makhviladze said.

Top five bestseller directions are as follows: Greece, Egypt, Italy, Spain and so on. At the same time, the price of Greek tours are growing because of increased demand, Makhviladze said.

Maia Sidamonidze, the former head of the national tourism agency and tourism expert, does not have information on tightened visa issuance procedures at embassies of European countries. Maybe, increased demand for specific directions requires to make visa appointments two weeks earlier, but this does not signify that visa issuance procedures have been tightened, Maia Sidamonidze noted.

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DEVELOPMENT

Nino Gogoberidze

New Director of Archi Group Plans to Strengthen Leading Positions Since 2006 Archi Group has been implementing many large-scale projects in Tbilisi and regions in various sectors. The company’s key direction covers construction and development projects. Archi Group has finished 6 residential complexes, 1 commercial project and has 8 ongoing projects in Tbilisi.

A month ago a new director took over management in Archi Group. The new director with multiyear managerial experience plans to implement more ambitious and large-scale plans in Archi Group.

- What challenges does your managerial position raise before you?

- Archi Group is a company with successful history in the construction and development market of Georgia. The company has withstood many crisis periods in the country and it makes advancement in stable regime for many years. The company’s strategic direction is to cover all segments and I completely agree with this policy. I plan to further deepen the way chosen by Archi Group and reach wider circles of customers. By the end of 2016 we will launch implementing four new projects in Tbilisi. Besides the capital city, we will also intensify efforts in regions too.

- What is the key competitive advantage of the group?

- There are many development companies in the Georgian development market and the competition is also very high. I would name customer-oriented policy as a key advantage of our company. «In All Districts of Tbilisi» signifies that Archi Group

offers adapted products to all categories of customers and this is a huge priority in itself.

Moreover, we are oriented on our clients. We permanently control the quality and meet all European construction standards. It is also much advantage that we finish all projects without any delay.

Archi Group boldly maintains the status of a leading company and naturally, we will always protect our status.

- Future Plans - More Comfort to Customers!

Focus on clients, first of all, permanent improvement of services and provision of maximal opportunities to make our clients content with our services and offered products.

By the end of 2016, we will implement 4 new projects with total investment value of 40 million USD. Besides Tbilisi, Archi Group plans to implement a project of new hotels in resort zones of Georgia. We will introduce the project in the near future.

July 25, 2016 #155

July 25, 2016 #155

STARTUP

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WODOO COLORFUL HANDMADE CRAFTS DELIVERING ITS OWN DESIGN NICHE WooDoo is a workshop of color handmade things. The workshop was organized by Levan Kakauridze and his joyful and creative friends two years ago. In that period they were first ones who attracted public interest thanks to their own different handmade works, shelves and frames. The company is trying even today to shape its own niche and design inspiration and develop the business in the country.

We have contacted Mr. Levan to learn about the company performance and plans.

- Please describe your company briefly. When and why did you decide to establish this company?

- I always loved drawing and making toys from my childhood. Home economy class was my favorite subject in the school. In that period I could not imagine this trade would bring profits. In 2014 I bought several tools jointly with my friends and organized a workshop for toys.

Then we organized the second and third workshops and we used to donate them to children of our friends. Unexpectedly, we received orders and in this way this hobby grew into business.

- What materials and which technology do you use for manufacturing your products?

-We use massive wood and top quality lamin-

board, safe special color, lacquer. All products are made by hand in individual style and high-quality standards. We spend much time on each individual order. We strive to ensure high quality of services. Based on the abovementioned criteria, we have tried to select optimal prices for our products and I believe we have coped with this task. We do not take our orders somewhere, we make all orders at our workshop and therefore we have the best price on the market.

-How many persons work on product manufacturing and how long does the manufacturing process last?

- We are four workers and we have shared functions: one supervises marketing and communications, second – product design, third

– manufacturing process and the fourth one delivers orders to the customer. We have a young, joyful and creative team. All of us have other main jobs. This is an additional business and we love it very much.

- What segment are your products manufactured for and what age category of consumers buy your works?

- Children. Children is our main segment.

However, we also work for adults.

- How do customers contact you and are they able to select design themselves?

- They write to us on Facebook page. Then we consider the concept together. All orders are individual ones. Our designer works on visual aspects of each one. If necessary, we demonstrate graphic image of the product. Since we

make products by hand entirely, we pay much attention and time to any detail. All products are made by hand entirely and they are ecologically clean.

- Your company was the first one that started manufacturing similar works. However, following you, many other similar companies appeared. How do you plan to overcome the competition and what special niche do you have to attain this goal?

- We do not know whether we were the first or not. I believe many other persons used to make the same things, but many new workshops have appeared jointly with us. Competition is very good, because it stimulates to strive for best quality and best-designed products.

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BUSINESS

July 25, 2016 #155

Luca Polare Opens Up its first Ice-cream Spot in Batumi Luca Polare is expanding its network by opening the first branch in Batumi.

As it was stated by the company, new ice-cream shop will be opened on July 23, and will be located on Irakli Abashidze Street, near the Era Square.

The first ice-cream shop Luca Polare’s customers will be served for 4 seasons.

Necessary product ingredients will be cooked directly on the spot.

At this point, Luca Polare is currently having 5 branches in Tbilisi. In the future, the company plans to expand its network in the Black Sea coast. Therefore, the next ice-cream shop will be opened in Kobuleti and other resort towns.

GEORGIAN WINE

EVENT

Retailer Hopes to Lift Returning Firms in Namie by Tapping Pipeline to Qvevri-made Georgian Wine Matsubaya, a retail and wholesale firm from the town of Namie near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, is trying to revitalize businesses that were based in the district, using Georgian wine.

The firm, which evacuated to Tamura in central Fukushima Prefecture, is cooperating with H&N Wine Japan, a Tokyo-based importer that has a vineyard in Georgia, to establish a distribution channel for Georgian wine in the region hit by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Georgia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia, is widely believed to be where wine production originally began some 8,000

years ago. In the ancient Georgian traditional winemaking method, high-quality grapes with sugar content of 26 degrees Brix or more are fermented and stored in clay amphora-like vessels called Qvevri buried in the ground up to their necks.

Georgian wine has been attracting the attention of wine lovers worldwide after the centuries-old technique was added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013.

Namie is within the radioactive hot zone and no one is allowed to reside anywhere in town, but the evacuation order is expected to be lifted next March. Matsubaya and H&N Wine Japan hope to

NEWS

TOURISM

“The Guardian” Calls Georgian Rkatsiteli “Wonderful” “In the newly insular Britain, a little gastronomic cosmopolitanism is not only fun and delicious, it almost feels like an act of resistance”, reads a new article in The Guardian. Not without a dash of English humour, the article titled “Cabernet and kimchi?

Or syrah and sashimi?” covers some of the non-traditional wines, including Georgian and Lebanese.

“Sarajishvili” to Release Wine brandy-made Cocktails to the Market The oldest wine brandy manufacturer “Sarajishvili” is going to release new products both to the local and export markets in the current year. In 2016 Sarajishvili launched a new line and began to produce Sarajishvili cocktails. The company’s marketing manager Keti Matiashvili says in an interview that the company is trying to make its customers fall in love with wine brandy-made cocktails.

provide restaurants and retailers who fled with Georgian wine to help revive their businesses.

H&N Wine Japan President Mariko Honma, 59, used to work for an international nonprofit organization but quit after the 2011 earthquake to get involved in activities to restore disaster-hit areas in the Tohoku region.

She came up with the idea of supporting the region as a winery owner and used her retirement payment to purchase some 30 hectares of vineyard in Georgia. A wine production factory is under construction, and an original brand wine is expected to be produced this fall.

The two firms held a Geor-

Israel May Smooth Legal Job Visa Quotas for Georgian Citizens Itsik Moshe President of the Georgia-Israel Business Chamber “We believe that tourist inflows to Georgia from Israel may increase by 100%. I have submitted a specific plan for tourism development between Georgia and Israel to the tourism Minister of Israel. Today many Georgian citizens arrive in Israel by tourism visas, but then they remain in Israel for working and this is a real problem. Therefore, the Israeli government may smooth legal job visa quotas for Georgian citizens, Itsik Moshe said.

“Georgia-Israel tourism relations have intensified about ten times. Today more than 70 000 Israeli citizens visit Georgia a year and we are sure this figure may increase by 100%.

As to investments, over the past years Israeli investments were not made in Eastern European countries, but these finances are coming to Georgia. A new hotel will open in Tbilisi in several days. In the past year, we invited a 500 person delegation for introducing Georgia to them. Wellness tourism is an important direction. This year 500 tourists will arrive from Israel, who previously were visiting Thailand. They will stay at Rixos-Borjomi.

Bilateral efforts are required for boost investment inflows, including business forums. Israel does not have more friends in the Region except for Georgia. We should provide much job and both governments should take active efforts. Georgia should show more initiative. Israel is showing full readiness for cooperation. In the previous week I met with Israeli tourism Minister and agreed a plan on how to boost tourism from Georgia to Israel.

One direction implies an allocation of job visas to Georgian citizens in Israel.

On the other hand, Georgian tourists will be able to easier enter Israel. Israel has performed much job to make clear that a tourist represents our country outside of Israel. It is not a good moment when Georgian citizens enter Israel as tourists and then stay for working. Israel remains in a state of war and there is much caution regarding illegal residents. We plan to increase job visa quotas to bring the mentioned issues in order”, Itsik Moshe said.

gian wine tasting and sales event earlier this month at a department store in Koriyama, Fukushima. They offered some 200 bottles of eight types of Georgian wine, including one made of grapes from Honma’s vineyard using the Qvevri method. The wine was priced at around ¥3,000 a bottle.

“We want to use the wine made in the birthplace of wine to help revitalize the region,” said Yasushi Igarashi, 55, Matsubaya official in charge of out-of-store sales.

Honma and her 29-year-old son, Satoshi, said they hope people in the disaster-hit areas will enjoy the wine, which tastes sweet despite lacking added sugar.

Anaklia Magazine Presentation On July 18, in TBC ART Gallery the presentation of a new magazine “Anaklia” was held. The magazine will cover all the details concerning about deep-water port construction in Anaklia and Free industrial zone development, as well as other economic, Geopolitical and cultural issues and challenges.

The magazine is published by JSC Anaklia Development Consortium. Among the authors are Aka Morchiladze, Giorgi Kekelidze, Natela Grigalashvili, Goga Chanadiri, Manana Vardiashvili, Merab Adeishvili, David Machavariani and others.

The magazine will be published once in two months with a circulation of 3000. In addition, it will be distributed free of charge.

The presentation was attended by Mamuka Khazaradze – Cofounder of “Anaklia Development Consortium”, Levan Akhvlediani – executive director of “Anaklia Development Consortium”, and the representatives of state agencies and the diplomatic Corps.

In TBC Gallery sea thematic art object and video installation will be presented that were organized by young artists Salome Dumbadze and Dimitry Dadiani.

Anaklia Deep-Water Port and free Industrial Zone will be located on 1000 hectares. At the port 10 000 container capacity ships will be able to stop. The Port provides services to large-sized vessels, which was impossible until now. Anaklia port construction will be carried out in several stages. And operations will start no later than 3 years after construction begins.

July 25, 2016 #155

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HEALTHCARE

Pre-election Promises by Political Parties – How to Improve the Healthcare System In the pre-election period political parties are introducing different concepts for economic, political, social and healthcare sector development. Several reforms in the healthcare sector carried out by the ruling Authorities are considered the most successful steps. It is interesting how political parties running for the 2016 parliamentary elections plan to develop the healthcare sector and what they will change in the event they win a majority votes in the parliament?

Girchi new political center The healthcare program of Girchi new political center comprises three main priorities, under which a number of changes should be carried out in the system, valuable and healthy competition conditions should be established in the insurance sector. The financial support amount of state insurance program beneficiaries should be revised due to their social status.

In the previous week Girchi representatives introduced the healthcare program at the Healthcare Press Club. Vakho Megrelishvili, one of the founders of Girchi political party noted that the program comprises three main directions: Priority 1: -the government will not interfere in medical business and it will ensure free

competition; -citizens will independently choose insurance companies; -Taxpayer’s money will be directed to the medical industry through specific persons; -Health insurance will become an inseparable part of the family pension system.

Priority 2: -Reformation of medical education Medical facilities will be able to organize medical schools and postgraduate education.

Priority 3: – Continuation of pharmaceutical reforms – integration with EU regulatory institutions (creating opportunity for information exchange about medications admitted to own markets).

2. Competition Any insurance company and medical institution will enjoy equal conditions and only customers will give priority to this or that company.

3. Reasonable Financial Support Vaxo Megrelishvili explains that it is not just to maintain universal health insurance in the existing form. Financial support system should be differentiated due to the social status of our citizens.

«Since I am a medium-income citizen, it is not just to have the same degree of access to medical services as a citizen, for example, with 400 GEL income», Megrelishvili noted.

Girchi offers this form of insurance system: 1. The Authorities will insure 1.5 million persons, extremely poor and poor 400 000

families, as part of the best insurance package. The price of the best insurance package for an averaged family will be about 800 GEL a year.

2. The first 100 000 families from the medium class will be insured under standard service package and its average annual price will be roughly 670 GEL. 3. A part of upper medium and well-off citizens will be insured from expenditures of emergency medicine. The emergency medicine costs for a family with an annual revenues of 16-26 thousand GEL a year are supposed to be 3000-5000 GEL (difference between them and poor and mediumincome families). Any expenditures that exceed the limit spent by the family will be covered as part of the state insurance.

Vakho Megrelishvili

Irakli Alasania — Free Democrats In the event Irakli Alasania — Free Democrats come to power, the party plans to implement a number of changes in the healthcare sector. The healthcare system improvement occupies an important role in the party’s pre-election program. Koka Pruidze, one of the leaders of the party, noted thatthe Free Democrats’ healthcare program prioritizes the following aspects: Improving medical service quality Growing healthcare attainability and universality Universal provision of services Lowering medication prices and control over their quality Protection of rights of a patient and medical staff Control over quality of healthcare and medical education Establishing Healthy Lifestyle The primary healthcare sector development is of crucial importance for the whole health system development, as well as socially just distribution of financial component, Koka Pruidze noted.

«Today there is two categories of citizens in Georgia: «the first category that is financed by the Authorities by 100% and the second category – all others».

Free Democrats offer universal system of payment that will be divided in two parts – base and universal packages.

The base package will be applied for the whole population of Georgia. Moreover, an additional package will be introduced that will be financed due to revenues of our citizens – pensioners, disabled persons, children under 5 years old (other categories may be also included) – this additional package will be financed by 100%. This percentage indicators may be lowered depending on revenues of our citizens.

«Free Democrats» give priority to support doctors and hospital nurses living in villages. Currently, 700 village doctors and hospital nurses operate in Georgia and they receive very low wages. Village outpatient facilities are in heavy condition in terms of equipment. Doctors and nurses are also in

heavy condition, because they do not have appropriate working conditions», Koka Pruidze said.

«Free Democrats» offer the following scheme for improving working conditions of village doctors: If outpatient facilities in each village (that is one doctor and two nurses) do not send 2 patients to a hospital that do not need hospital services, 25 million GEL may be saved a year. Free Democrats believe that the saved financial resources should be directed to doubling wages of doctors and hospital nurses.

«Today village doctors take 600 GEL wages on average. We can increase this amount to 1200-1300 GEL, while wages of nurses will increase to 600-700 GEL from current 250 GEL», Koka Pruidze noted.

The party also plans to popularize the profession of a hospital nurse. Currently, we have more than 30 000 doctors, while the number of hospital nurses is very low. A majority of nurses has exceeded middle age

and despite they work well, new generation is not coming to substitute them and this is a real problem. The objective of Free democrats is to make the profession of hospital nurses attractive in terms of financial interest and education.

Free Democrats also pledge to lower medication prices.

«We will develop the list of essential medications (base, necessary medications) that the government will buy, distribute them to villages and to family doctors. These medications will be issued to patients by only family doctor’s prescriptions. The mechanism of this management already exists in Georgia.

For example, vaccination – when the Authorities buy vaccines for everybody and issue them free of charge due to prescription and this process is performed by village doctors and nurses», Koka Pruidze noted.

The Caucasus Business Week (CBW) continues introducing election programs of political parties. THE CBW will publish heath programs of other political parties too.

Koka Pruidze

June Records Slight Decline in Price of Driver’s Medicine Kit The Healthcare Platform continues publishing the June report on the Panaskerteli medicine kits as part of the Pharma Monitor project. In this case the organization has explored the value of medications of driver’s medicine kit. Unlike previous months that recorded downturn tendency, in May the driver’s medicine kit price rose by 5%, but in June the value declined by 1 GEL on average. In May the driver’s medicine kit price was 38 GEL, while the figure declined to 37 GEL in June. In the research process, the organization explored prices of 17 medications and accessories, including antiseptics, analgesics, cardiology drugs. The price of medications and accessories were examined in 4 leading pharmacy networks. The monitoring has exposed a decline in prices of the following medications: the price of Ibuprofen declined to 2.65 GEL from 2.80 GEL; the price of Oxolin Ointment decreased to 0.95 GEL from 1.10 GEL, the price of nitroglycerin decreased to 0.85 GEL from 0.95 GEL. The Healthcare Platform continues exploring pharmaceutical market tendencies as part of Pharma Monitor project and updates the society on medication prices.

In June Tourist’s Medicine Kit Price Declined by 2 GEL The Healthcare Platform nongovernmental organization continues exploring the Panaskerteli medicine kits as part of the project for monitoring medication prices on the Georgian pharmaceutical market.

The organization has explored the price of antiseptic drugs, anti-insect and sun persistent means (aerosol Lavanda, Ziaia Spray), analgesics in four leading pharmacy networks.

According to the report, in June as compared to May, the price of medicine kit of this group made up 65 GEL, down 2 GEL compared to May 2016.

As to change in prices of specific medications, the reality is as follows: In June the price of Ibuprofen deceased to 2.65 GEL from 2.80 GEL. The price of Taicold declined to 6.50 GEL from 6.60 GEL. The price of Dramina declined to 3.50 GEL from 5.60 GEL. The Healthcare Platform continues exploring the list and prices of medications that are necessary for various segments of consumers. The organization will supply the research report, pharmaceutical market tendencies to the population in the future too.

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July 25, 2016 #155

WORLD NEWS

July 25, 2016 #155

13

Quotes

“ Success is “We fully trust in the government, will of people, economy and stability of this country”

how high you bounce when you hit bottom

”

Tourist bookings to Istanbul have fallen every week since the start of the year, and plunged 69% in the week after the airport attack

George S. Patton

SOCAR to increase investments in Turkey

A

zerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR has a full confidence in Turkey and will continue to implement projects and invest in the country, Anadolu Agency quoted SOCAR’s President Rovnag Abdullayev as saying.

Abdullayev expressed his condolences for those who died in struggle against the military coup attempt in Turkey. He added that military coup attempts, which are unacceptable in modern societies, weaken democratic environment and causes a great harm to the economic development.

“We fully trust in the government, will of people, economy and stability of this country,” he added.

A group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them on the evening of July 15. However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender on July 16 and Turkish authorities announced that the coup attempt failed. More than 240 people have been killed as a result of the coup attempt.

Highlighting the activity of SOCAR in Turkey, Abdullayev said that the company will continue realization of projects, including the Star refinery, with the total worth of $18 billion in Turkey. The projects are aimed at

meeting energy needs of Europe.

Star Oil Refinery, which will be the first oil refinery built by the private sector in Turkey, is expected to be completed in 2018. The total cost of the project is estimated at $5.7 billion. It is expected to contribute significantly to the region’s and country’s economy by creating job opportunities and increasing competitiveness.

“The largest container port in the Aegean Sea also will be launched by SOCAR in a very short time. At the same time, our activity in Petkim, Turkey’s only petrochemicals producer, is a symbol of our confidence in Turkey’s economy,” Abdullayev said.

Abdullayev underlined that SOCAR’s investments in Turkey will also continue to increase in future.

SOCAR began its activity in Turkey after privatization of Petkim Holding in 2008 and has been operating under name of SOCAR Turkey.

SOCAR is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, as well as oil and chemical products in domestic and international markets, and supplying natural gas to the industry and the public in Azerbaijan.

Facebook Completes First Test Flight of its Aquila

F

acebook has reached a significant milestone in its bid to provide internet to even the most remote locations of the globe.

Its Connectivity Lab has completed the first full-scale test flight of the firm’s Aquila high-altitude aircraft.

Aquila is a solar-poweredplane designed to ‘beam’ connectivity to places that can’t support the typical infrastructure needed to provide web connections.

When complete, Aquila will be able to circle a region up to 60 miles in diameter, beaming connectivity from an altitude of more than 60,00ft using laser communications and millimetre wave systems. Aquila is designed to be hyper efficient, so it can fly for up to three months at a time.

The aircraft has the wingspan of an airliner, but at cruising speed it will

consume only 5,000 watts — the same amount as three hairdryers, or a high-end microwave.

“Internet access can offer life-changing opportunities and experiences to all of us, but there are still 4 billion people without it,” said Jay Parikh, Facebook’s global head of engineering and infrastructure in a blog post.

“We’ve been flying a one-fifth scale version of Aquila for several months, but this was the first time we’ve flown the full-scale aircraft. This test flight was designed to verify our operational models and overall aircraft design. To prove out the full capacity of the design, we will push Aquila to the limits in a lengthy series of tests in the coming months and years. Failures are expected and sometimes even planned; we learn more when we push the plane to the brink.”

Net growth of Turkey, Egypt, France, new business- Tunisia: Losing Millions es in Azerbai- of Tourists jan remains high Azerbaijan has increased the positive balance between the opening of new businesses and closure of operating ones: for 1st half of 2016 the net growth of businesses made up only 67.1% of the 2015 index.

The State Statistics Committee reports that the rate of new businesses growth for the past half-year totaled 3,868 businesses (4,362 new legal entities were registered and 494 ones closed) against 5,762 ones (+6266, -504 organizations) in 2015 and 8,603 ones for 2014 flflfl (+9130, -527).

On average 8.8 new businesses (per every closed business) were opened in the 1st half of 2016.

In the 1st half of 2016 the net increase in businesses was one new business per 1,217 persons of working age against 853 people by the end of 2014.

Turkey Coup Attempt not to Affect TANAP Pipeline’s Construction Period Military coup attempt and imposing a three-month state of emergency in the aftermath of the incident in Turkey will not affect the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline’s (TANAP) construction period, TANAP consortium told Trend July 21.

“The project is being implemented according to schedule,” said the consortium. “There are no delays in the [pipeline’s] construction.”

TANAP project, worth $9.2 billion, envisages transportation of gas of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field from Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey. The gas will be delivered to Turkey in 2018, and after completion of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline’s (TAP) construction, the gas will be delivered to Europe in early 2020.

TANAP shareholders are Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR (58 percent), BOTAS (30 percent), and BP (12 percent).

T

he world is a scary place… and several countries are becoming just too frightening for many tourists.

Millions of travelers have been nixing their dreams of visiting places like the pyramids in Egypt, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Tunisian coast and Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia due to heightened terrorism concerns.

Here are the countries that are among the worst hit: Turkey Turkey’s title as the sixth most visited country in the world — right behind Italy — is seriously at risk.

The country welcomed 40 million tourists last year, but millions are rethinking their plans following a major terrorist attack on Istanbul’s main airport in June and Friday’s deadly attempted coup.

“The recent political events in Turkey will be catastrophic for its travel industry,” warned Nadejda Popova, a senior travel specialist at Euromonitor International.

Tourist bookings to Istanbul have fallen every week since the start of the year, and plunged 69% in the week after the airport attack, according to travel intelligence firm ForwardKeys.

Ahead of the airport attack and coup, multiple deadly terrorist bombings in Istanbul and Ankara convinced many European travelers — mainly Germans and Brits — to holiday elsewhere, according to David Scowsill, CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council.

Germany and the U.K. are among the top three biggest contributors to Turkey’s tourism sector, sending roughly 8 million tourists a year in total.

Russia, the second biggest market for Turkey, banned its citizens from visiting the country for eight months after Turkey downed a Russian war plane in December.

That ban has just been lifted.

France France is the world’s top destination for international tourists, welcoming over 80 millions visitors each year. It earns more money from tourism than any other European country, according to UBS. But it too is losing visitors following a series of terror attacks. Friday’s attack in Nice, which killed 84 people, was the third in the last 18 months.

ForwardKeys data shows that international visitor numbers to France declined 11% in the five months after the Paris attack in November. And bookings to Nice dropped

sharply after the attack last week.

“Frankly, it doesn’t look good,” ForwardKeys CEO Olivier Jager told CNNMoney.

Analysts at UBS say travel spending has fallen in France for the past eight months and slumped 18% in June alone. They cited data from Global Blue, which provides sales tax refunds in airports around the world.

Egypt The prospects for Egypt’s tourism industry look dire following years of political upheaval andaviation disasters.

Annual visitor numbers peaked above 14 million in 2010 but crashed to around 9 million last year, according to data from the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization.

Euromonitor expects visitor numbers will drop a further 20% this year.

The crash of EgyptAir flight 804 in May was initially suspected to have been caused by a terrorist attack, forcing many tourists to reconsider their travel plans. It’s still not clear what brought the plane down, but investigators have found evidence of a fire on board.

On top of that, an EgyptAir domestic flight was hijacked in March, and terrorists brought down a Russian plane that took off from an Egyptian tourist airport in late October.

Tunisia This small country wedged between Algeria and Libya in northern Africa experienced a near 20% drop in international visitor arrivals in the first quarter of 2016 following two shocking terrorist attacks that targeted tourists. ISIS claimed responsibility for both deadly attacks. The first attack in March 2015 saw assailants gun down visitors at a popular museum in the heart of the capital, killing more than 20 people. The next attack in June 2015 saw a gunman open fire on sunbathing tourists, killing 38 people, most of them British citizens.

Tourism levels in a country tend to take up to two years to recover when a terrorist attack directly targets tourists, according to Scowsill from the World Travel & Tourism Council. “People will come to Tunisia again… but right now [the country is] having a very tough time and people are losing their jobs,” said Scowsill. Tunisia used to welcome about 6 million to 7 million visitors a year before the attacks, but that seems unrealistic for 2016. International airline capacity to Tunisia has been cut by 25% for the summer, according to ForwardKeys.

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Embassy United States of America Embassy 11 Balanchivadze St., Dighomi Dstr., Tbilisi Tel: 27-70-00, 53-23-34 E-mail: tbilisivisa@state.gov; askconsultbilisi@state.gov United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Embassy 51 Krtsanisi Str., Tbilisi, Tel: 227-47-47 E-mail: british.embassy.tbilisi@fco.gov.uk Republic of France Embassy 49, Krtsanisi Str. Tbilisi, Tel: 272 14 90 E-mail: ambafrance@access.sanet.ge Web-site: www.ambafrance-ge.org Federal Republic of Germany Embassy 20 Telavi St. Tbilisi Tel: 44 73 00, Fax: 44 73 64 Italian RepublicEmbassy 3a Chitadze St, Tbilisi, Tel: 299-64-18, 292-14-62, 292-18-54 E-mail: embassy.tbilisi@esteri.it Republic of Estonia Embassy 4 Likhauri St., Tbilisi, Tel: 236-51-40 E-mail: tbilisisaatkond@mfa.ee Republic of Lithuania Embassy 25 Tengiz Abuladze St, Tbilisi Tel: 291-29-33 E-mail: amb.ge@urm.lt Republic of Latvia Embassy 16 Akhmeta Str., Avlabari, 0144 Tbilisi.

E-mail: embassy.georgia@mfa.gov.lv Greece Republic Embassy 37. Tabidze St. Tbilisi Tel: 91 49 70, 91 49 71, 91 49 72 Czech RepublicEmbassy 37 Chavchavadze St. Tbilisi ;Tel: 291-67-40/41/42 E-mail: czechembassy@gol.ge Web-sait: www.mzv.cz Japan Embassy 7 Krtsanisi St. Tbilisi Tel: +995 32 2 75 21 11, Fax: +995 32 2 75 21 20 Kingdom of Sweden Embassy 15 Kipshidze St. Tbilisi Tel: +995 32 2 55 03 20 , Fax: +995 32 2 22 48 90 Kingdom of the Netherlands Embassy 20 Telavi St. Tbilisi Tel: 27 62 00, Fax: 27 62 32 People’s Republic of China Embassy 52 Barnov St. Tbilisi Tel: 225-22-86, 225-21-75, 225-26-70 E-mail: zhangling@access.sanet.ge Republic of Bulgaria Embassy 15 Gorgasali Exit, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia Tel: +995 32 291 01 94; +995 32 291 01 95 Fax: +99 532 291 02 70 Republic of Hungary Embassy 83 Lvovi Street, Tbilisi Tel: 39 90 08; E-mail: hunembtbs@gmail.com State of Israel Embassy 61 Agmashenebeli Ave. Tbilisi Tel: 95 17 09, 94 27 05 Embassy of Swiss Confederation’s Russian Federation Interests Section Embassy 51 Chavchavadze Av., Tbilisi Tel: 291-26-45, 291-24-06, 225-28-03 E-mail: RussianEmbassy@Caucasus.net Ukraine Embassy 75, Oniashvili St., Tbilisi Tel: 231-11-61, 231-12-02, 231-14-54 E-mail: ukraina_pu@wanex.net; emb_ge@mfa.gov.ua Consular Agency: 71, Melikishvili St., Batumi Tel: (8-88-222) 3-16-00/ 3-14-78 Republic of Turkey Embassy 35 Chavchavadze Ave., Tbilisi Tel: 225-20-72/73/74/76 embassy.tbilisi@mfa.gov.tr Consulate General in Batumi 9 Ninoshvili Street, Batumi Tel: 422 25 58 00 consulate.batumi@mfa.gov.tr Republic of Azerbaijan Embassy Kipshidze II-bl . N1., Tbilisi Tel: 225-26-39, 225-35-26/27/28 E-mail: tbilisi@mission.mfa.gov.az Address: Dumbadze str. 14, Batumi Tel: 222-7-67-00; Fax: 222-7-34-43 Republic of Armenia Embassy 4 Tetelashvili St. Tbilisi Tel: 95-94-43, 95-17-23, 95-44-08 E-mail: armemb@caucasus.net Web: www.armenianembassy.ge Consulate General, Batumi Address: Batumi, Gogebashvili str. 32, Apt. 16 Kingdom of Spain Embassy Rustaveli Ave. 24, I floor, Tbilisi Tel: 230-54-64 E-mail: emb.tiflis@maec.esRomania Embassy

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TBILISI GUIDE 7 Kushitashvili St., Tbilisi Tel: 38-53-10; 25-00-98/97 E-mail: ambasada@caucasus.net Republic of Poland Embassy 19 Brothers Zubalashvili St., Tbilisi Tel: 292-03-98 Email:tbilisi.amb.sekretariat@msz.gov.pl Web-site: www.tbilisi.polemb.net Republic of Iraq Embassy Kobuleti str. 16, Tbilisi Tel: 291 35 96; 229 07 93 E-mail: iraqiageoemb@yahoo.com Federative Republic of Brazil Embassy Chanturia street 6/2, Tbilisi Tel.: +995-32-293-2419 Fax.: +995-32-293-2416 Islamic Republic of Iran Embassy 80, I.Chavchavadze St. Tbilisi, Tel: 291-36-56, 291-36-58, 291-36-59, 291-36-60; Fax: 291-36-28 E-mail: iranemb@geo.net.ge United Nations Office Address: 9 Eristavi St. Tbilisi Tel: 225-11-26/28, 225-11-29/31 Fax: 225-02-71/72 E-mail: registry.geo@undp.org Web-site: www.undp.org International Monetary Fund Office Address : 4 Freedom Sq., GMT Plaza, Tbilisi Tel: 292-04-32/33/34 E-mail: kdanelia@imf.org Web-site: www.imf.ge Asian Development Bank Georgian Resident Mission Address: 1, G. Tabidze Street

Freedom Square 0114 Tbilisi, Georgia Tel: +995 32 225 06 19 E-mail: adbgrm@adb.org; Web-site: www.adb.org World Bank Office Address : 5a Chavchavadze Av., lane-I, Tbilisi, Georgia ; Tel: 291-30-96, 291-26-89/59 Web-site: www.worldbank.org.ge Regional Office of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Address: 6 Marjanishvili St. Tbilisi Tel: 244 74 00, 292 05 13, 292 05 14 Web-site: www.ebrd.com Representation of the Council of Europe in Georgia Address : 26 Br. Kakabadze, Tbilisi Tel: 995 32 291 38 70/71/72/73 Fax: 995 32 291 38 74 Web-site: www.coe.ge Embassy of the Slovak Republic Address: Chancery: 85 Irakli Abashidze St. Tbilisi, 0162 Georgia Consular Office: 38 Nino Chkheidze St. Tbilisi, 0102 Georgia Phone: 2 222 4437, 2 296 1913 e-mail: emb.tbilisi@mzv.sk

Hotels in Georgia TBILISI MARRIOTT Tbilisi , 13 Rustaveli Ave. Tel: 77 92 00, www.marriott.com COURTYARD MARRIOTT Tbilisi , 4 Freedom Sq. Tel: 77 91 00 www.marriott.com RADISSON BLU HOTEL, TBILISI Rose Revolution Square 1 0108, Tbilisi Tel: +995 32 402200 radissonblu.com/hotel-tbilisi RADISSON BLU HOTEL, BATUMI Ninoshvili Str. 1, 6000 Bat’umi, Georgia Tel: 8 422255555 http://radissonblu.com/hotel-batumi SHERATON METECHI PALACE Tbilisi , 20 Telavi St. Tel: 77 20 20, www.starwoodhotels.com SHERATON BATUMI 28 Rustaveli Street • Batumi Tel: (995)(422) 229000 www.sheratonbatumi.com HOLIDAY INN TBILISI Business hotel Addr: 1, 26 May Square Tel: +995 32 230 00 99 E-mail: info@hi-tbilisi.com Website: http://www.hi-tbilisi.com BETSY’S HOTEL With Marvellous Tbilisi Views Addr: 32/34 Makashvili St. Tbilisi Tel: +995 32 293 14 04; +995 32 292 39 96 Fax: +995 32 99 93 11 E-mail: info@betsyshotel.com Website: http://www.betsyshotel.com

Restaurants CORNER HOUSE Tbilisi, I. Chavchavadze ave. 10, Tel: 0322 47 00 49; Email: contact@cornerhouse.ge RESTAURANT BARAKONI Restaurant with healthy food.

Georgian-European Cuisine Agmashenebeli Alley 13th Phone: 555 77 33 77 www.barakoni.com CHARDIN 12 Tbilisi , 12 Chardin St. , Tel: 92 32 38 CAFE 78 Best of the East and the West Lado Asatiani 33, SOLOLAKI 032 2305785; 574736290 BREAD HOUSE Tbilisi , 7 Gorgasali St. , Tel: 30 30 30 BUFETTI - ITALIAN RESTAURANT Tbilisi , 31 I. Abashidze St. , Tel: 22 49 61 DZVELI SAKHLI Tbilisi , 3 Right embankment , Tel: 92 34 97, 36 53 65, Fax: 98 27 81 IN THE SHADOW OF METEKHI Tbilisi , 29a Tsamebuli Ave. , Tel: 77 93 83, Fax: 77 93 83 SAKURA - JAPANESE RESTAURANT Tbilisi , 29 I. Abashidze St. , Tel: 29 31 08, Fax: 29 31 08 SIANGAN - CHINESE RESTAURANT Tbilisi , 41 Peking St , Tel: 37 96 88 VERA STEAK HOUSE Tbilisi , 37a Kostava St , Tel: 98 37 67 BELLE DE JOUR 29 I. Abashidze str, Tbilisi; Tel: (+995 32) 230 30 30 VONG 31 I. Abashidze str, Tbilisi Tel: (+995 32) 230 30 30 BRASSERIE L’EXPRESS 14 Chardin str, Tbilisi Tel: (+995 32) 230 30 30 TWO SIDE PARTY CLUB 7 Bambis Rigi, Tbilisi Tel: (+995 32) 230 30 30

SH. RUSTAVELI STATE THEATRE Tbilisi. 17 Rustaveli Ave. Tel: 93 65 83, Fax: 99 63 73 TBILISI STATE MARIONETTE THEATRE Tbilisi. 26 Shavteli St. Tel: 98 65 89, Fax: 98 65 89 Z. PALIASHVILI TBILISI STATE THEATRE OF OPERA AND BALLET Tbilisi. 25 Rustaveli Ave. Tel: 98 32 49, Fax: 98 32 50

Galleries ART GALLERY LINE Tbilisi. 44 Leselidze St. BAIA GALLERY Tbilisi. 10 Chardin St. Tel: 75 45 10 GALLERY Tbilisi. 12 Erekle II St. Tel: 93 12 89

Real Estate International Real Estate Company (IREC) Tbilisi. 9 P. Aslanidi St. Tel: +995 32 238 058 Mob: 599 95 76 71 Email: Info@irec.ge www.irec.ge

GSS Car rental offers a convenient service for those who are interested in renting car in Georgia. Rental fleet mainly consist of Japanese made SUV’s, the company has various models of cars including sedans and minivans which are in good technical condition.

Contact information: Email: info@gsservices.ge.

Address: Shalva Dadiani 10

Cinemas AKHMETELI Tbilisi. “Akhmeteli” Subway Station Tel: 58 66 69 AMIRANI Tbilisi. 36 Kostava St. Tel: 99 99 55, RUSTAVELI Tbilisi. 5 Rustaveli Ave. Tel: 92 03 57, 92 02 85, SAKARTVELO Tbilisi. 2/9 Guramishvili Ave. Tel: 8 322308080,

LIMELIGHTTRAVELINFOCENTER Address: 13 Sioni Street, 0105, Tbilisi (at the end of Shardeni Street) Phone: +995 322 999 123 E-mail: info@limelight.ge Web-page: www.limelight.ge Facebook page: www.facebook.com/limelight.ge

Theatres A. GRIBOEDOV RUSSIAN STATE DRAMA THEATRE Tbilisi. 2 Rustaveli Ave. Tel: 93 58 11, Fax: 93 31 15 INDEPENDENT THEATRE Tbilisi. 2 Rustaveli Ave. Tel: 98 58 21, Fax: 93 31 15 K. MARJANISHVILI STATE ACADEMIC THEATRE Tbilisi. 8 Marjanishvili St. Tel: 95 35 82, Fax: 95 40 01 M. TUMANISHVILI CINEMA ACTORS THEATRE Tbilisi. 164 Agmashenebeli Ave. Tel: 35 31 52, 34 28 99, Fax: 35 01 94 METEKHI – THEATRE OF GEORGIAN NATIONAL BALLET Tbilisi. 69 Balanchivadze St. Tel: (99) 20 22 10 MUSIC AND DRAMATIC STATE THEATRE Tbilisi. 182 Agmashenebeli Ave. Tel: 34 80 90, Fax: 34 80 90 NABADI - GEORGIAN FOLKLORE THEATRE Tbilisi. 19 Rustaveli Ave. Tel: 98 99 91 S. AKHMETELI STATE DRAMATIC THEATRE Tbilisi. 8 I. Vekua St. Tel: 62 59 73

THE BEST GEORGIAN HONEY OF CHESTNUTS,ACACIA AND LIME FLOWERS FROM THE VERY HART OF ADJARA MATCHAKHELA GORGE IN THE NETWORK OF GOODWILL, NIKORA AND SMART

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July 25, 2016 #155