PM Launches Travel for Georgia Campaign in Asureti
In an effort to promote domestic tourism, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia visited Asureti’s German neighborhood as part of the Travel for Georgia campaign today.
Restoration and rehabilitation work on the 19th-century German Evangelical Lutheran church, several homes, and the German cemetery on Swabians Street in the village of Asureti has been completed. The government allocated in excess of 6 million GEL to that end.
The PM visited the renovated German neighborhood in the company of German Ambassador Hubert Knirsch, Vice Prime Minister Maya Tskitishvili, Kvemo Kartli Governor Shota Rekhviashvili, and Head of the National Tourism Administration Mariam Kvrivishvili. According to Gakharia, the place is the best example of different cultures coexisting.
“Our visit today is symbolic in that we are launching a new program designed to develop domestic tourism. We must rediscover our homeland, Georgia, together. We have opened travel with Germany unconditionally. And this is the first historical settlement of Germans in Georgia established in 1817, two centuries ago, and the idea of rehabilitating this street links to the 200th anniversary of this place. Much remains to be done here, and we will continue working in cooperation with our friend country. We must remember our history, and our Germans who have had a difficult history. As you know, they were deported from Georgia prior to WWII, despite the excellent record of coexistence here which we all can see. We are launching efforts to promote domestic tourism. We must rediscover our homeland and visit many places together with our families, our children, so that we may be the finest guides to our guests, and be able to tell them about our homeland,” Giorgi Gakharia said.
The PM met with the local population and emphasized that a visit to Asureti’s German neighborhood will make a lasting impression on tourists, also offering the region a beneficial economic opportunity.
Gakharia informed the locals of the opportunities offered by the tourism component of the Enterprise Georgia program, namely in creating family-run hotels, eateries, and ethnic tourism activities.
After familiarizing himself with the completed rehabilitation work in Asureti’s German neighborhood, the Prime Minister visited one of the local households planning to start a family-run hotel. The family also owns an ancient winery where the hosts treated the guests to wine using traditional German vinicultural technology.
The rehabilitation of Asureti’s German neighborhood is a good example of support from the state in terms of putting in place infrastructure, on one hand, and of supporting and developing regions and rural areas through offering special state programs, on the other.