Georgia to Host World Tourist Guide Associations Convention

The 18th International Convention of the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA) is to be held in Tbilisi on 21 - 27 January 2019, the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA) announced.

The agency reports that during the voting process, Georgia’s competitors were the Thailand and New York Guides' Associations but the Georgian candidacy got the highest approval and gained a significant victory in the final vote.

The GNTA also says that the President of the World Guides Association Federation and other members of the board are on an official visit now to Tbilisi to agree on the details and prepare for the large-scale congress.

“The guests have visited Tbilisi and other regions of Georgia, including Kakheti and Mtskheta, and, together with GNTA head, Giorgi Chogovadze, they toured Old Tbilisi,” the GNTA statement reads.

“This is an opportunity for the 2017-2019 Executive Board, as appointed in Iran, to meet in person to discuss exciting new projects, the way forward and to finalize an action plan for the rest of 2017. It is an exciting time, as we experience the hospitality of our 2019 Convention hosts,” a post on the WFTGA facebook page reads.

Georgia was elected as a host country of the 2019 Convention at the 17th Convention of the World Federation of Tourism Guides Association in Iran.

Ketevan Meladze, Head of the Georgian Guides Association, stated that winning the vote is a precedent in the tourism sector of Georgia.

“Having the convention in Georgia is a very important event for promoting the Georgian tourism sector and developing tourism guides in the country,” Chogovadze said. “The convention participants will share their knowledge in tourism and the event will bring global awareness of the country”.

Thea Morrison