Georgian Tourism: Significant Gains Made in the Direction of 'Infinite Hospitality'

For the Georgian tourism industry, 2023 began with significant events – in March, the Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB) Berlin held its international exhibition with Georgia as host country. Prior to ITB’s exhibition, Georgia hosted the World Championships in Freestyle, Snowboarding and Freeskiing, which attracted over seven hundred athletes from 42 countries. Maia Omiadze, the new head of the National Tourism Administration, spoke to us about what Georgia gained from hosting these two major events and discussed the priorities for her administration.

After three months in office, what are your top priority areas for developing the Georgian tourism industry?

A primary function of the National Tourism Administration is to promote the country abroad and to provide support to the private sector within the country.

When it comes to promoting the country, the administration follows modern trends and develops marketing campaigns accordingly. For instance, since the COVID pandemic, many things have changed, including communication styles and marketing methods; storytelling has become more popular than direct advertising. This concept was the foundation of our campaign at the international tourism fair – ITB Berlin 2023. We created the theme “Infinite Hospitality” especially for the event and built our entire campaign around it.

As in communication, the world is switching to storytelling, and sharing real news is becoming increasingly popular. People are looking for authentic adventure when traveling too, and not just good infrastructure and good services. In this regard, our country has so much to offer the world at large, from cultural routes to hiking tours to gastronomic adventures. Georgia is a country with exceptional travel options.

Regarding support for the private sector, I have already had several meetings with key stakeholders in the sector in this direction, including separately meeting with tourist companies, guides, hotels and restaurants, all accompanied by their associations. In addition to discussing important topics, we also discussed high-risk professions such as hiking guides, mountain guides, ski trainers, their certification process, and how the process can be implemented effectively. We are currently working on a law that will address this issue as well.

Our priority direction is to regulate the legislative framework, and we are working with the Parliament’s sectoral committee on this framework. During this process, it is important to get all associations actively involved. We will try to spread out the changes in the long-term perspective so that they will be less challenging for the sector.

As you mentioned ITB Berlin, I am interested in what you think will be the positive effect of the international exhibition on Georgia’s tourism sector?

Media coverage amounted to 37 million euros, which is expected to continue through the end of the year; this includes social media and traditional media, podcasts, magazines, and print media. As a result, awareness of both the country and the products will increase. In general, Germans enjoy travelling to Georgia, and our country is not foreign to them, but it is a large country, and there is a lot more to absorb in Georgia.

The company I spoke with after the exhibition was very satisfied because they sold several large campaigns, and they became the official representative of two large companies in Georgia. I think that the results of this event will be much more tangible and apparent in time.

In the context of the exhibition, we hosted 300 journalists and tour operators for a reception, introduced our products, and received feedback on the media tours. Also, the Deputy Minister of Economy met with the head of the German Tourism Association, and we have already made some plans regarding the deepening of bilateral tourism relations between Georgia and Germany.

A World Championship in Skiing and Snowboarding was recently held in Bakuriani, Georgia for the first time. What are your thoughts on the event, and how has Georgia benefitted from it?

Our country received worldwide attention during three weeks from the coverage provided by Eurosport and Euronews broadcasts. Correspondents were pleased that the country was able to host the World Championship at such a high standard, both in terms of organizing and arranging infrastructure within a short period of time. Beyond the World Championship, this infrastructure will be used by tourists both locally and internationally.

Of course, it should be noted that when you host a global sports tournament, fans follow all sports groups, and I personally have not seen so many foreigners in Bakuriani. They used to go to Gudauri and Svaneti, but Bakuriani became a local vacation spot during this tournament.

National Tourism Administration participated in the preparation for the World Championship village market, so that the visitors could have fun, spend time, and there was a fair featuring Georgian entrepreneurs, DJ music, children’s area, and lots of fun, as is typical for events like this.

Can you tell me if there are plans for similar large-scale events?

The head of the Ski Federation remarked that this country is a discovery for them because of its capabilities and management, and he promised that another competition is certain to follow; Additionally, the Tourism Administration has been developing several projects, and we will inform the public of the results as soon as they become available.

What are the countries from which Georgia receives most visitors and how do you engage these markets, and vice versa? Also, what are the most unexplored but interesting markets and how do you reach them?

Kazakhstan, Poland, Germany, France, these countries feature prominently in our marketing campaigns; we also work on distant destinations such as China, America, Korea, but flights are essential, as running campaigns in countries with direct flights makes it easier. I would like to emphasize that we do not spend money on marketing in bordering countries, since there is already a lot of awareness there.

Do you have any plans for developing domestic tourism?

As a way to encourage domestic tourism, we already had a large project in the form of a culinary festival, and it was very well received. The pilot version was in Racha, in the second case, Mestia, and we’re planning another one in Spring. Additionally, we have a very popular project where we are marking hiking trails. This activity is highly rated by Georgians and tourists alike.

In light of the theme of this issue, which is “Women in Leadership”, can you take us through your career journey before taking this position, and what are the challenges women face in achieving success at this level?

It has always been my passion to work in communication. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in journalism and a Master’s Degree in Public and Communication Management. I was 6 years old when I became a children’s TV show host, so I grew up in this field. In my last year of study in the University, I began working in television, and I worked as a correspondent for ten years. Then, I took a break due to personal reasons. I lived in China for a while because my husband had a job there, and I immediately started working in communications when I returned. Since 2013, I have been working as a Communications Manager in the public sector, and I took on this new challenge when my managerial skills improved as a result of dealing with large projects.

Certainly, success for a woman is difficult, but I was raised in an environment where there was no gender imbalance, I always felt equal; then, when you create a family, support is of course crucial. For example, I was on a business trip for three weeks in Germany and I have two children, a 10-year-old and a 4-year-old boy. I would not have been able to accomplish anything if I did not have both my mother’s and my husband’s support. Therefore, I believe a person cannot achieve anything on their own, despite putting in a great deal of hard work. I believe family, friends, one’s immediate community, and the environment play an important role in the success of anyone.