Economy Minister Meets with Representatives of Investors' Council
Georgia’s Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Giorgi Kobulia, met with the representatives of the Investors' Council to discuss challenges and topical issues facing the tourism sector.
The Investors’ Council is an independent consultative body of the Prime Minister of Georgia aimed at creating a dialogue between the private business community, international organizations, donors and the Government of Georgia for the development of a favorable, non-discriminatory, transparent and fair business and investment climate in Georgia.
During the meeting at the Ministry, Kobulia made a presentation to the audience and introduced in detail the strategy of the Ministry of Economy, which implies numerous important directions for the development and promotion of the tourism sector.
“We are glad to know that the Investors’ Council approved our vision, confirming that our strategy for tourism development is correct and that we are well-aware of the aspects that need more attention. We talked about such infrastructure projects as the creation of large capacity conference spaces in Tbilisi and Batumi. Of course, we are ready to take into consideration all the comments of the Council and I believe that joint efforts with tourism sector representatives will provide grounds for better outcomes,” he stated after the meeting.
Head of the Investors’ Council Secretariat, Mariam Meghvinetukhutsesi, stated that the Tourism Working Group of the Council exchanged ideas with the Minister about solving issues related to the further rapid and sustainable development of the tourism sector.
Moreover, one of the members of the Tourism Working Group, the founder of the CBC Georgia Saba Kiknadze, noted that the meeting was fruitful as the parties discussed all the challenges the tourism sector in Georgia is facing.
“It was agreed that we need to switch to high solvent markets, develop infrastructure and promote the growth of staff qualification in order to provide higher quality services in the tourism sector,” he stated.
Georgia hosted 8,679,544 international travelers in 2018, showing an increase of 9.8% year-on-year. Of these travelers, 4,756,820 were tourists, which is 16.9% more compared to 2017.
By Thea Morrison
Image source: Ministry of Economy