Where.ge Awarded for Best Marketing Campaign of Tourism Destination
On December 6, the 3rd Official Ceremony of the Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards was held at Rustaveli Theater, where the 20 best companies among different nominations were named.
1. THE BEST BOUTIQUE ACCOMMODATION AWARD – Boutique Hotel Kabadoni
2. THE BEST STANDARD ACCOMMODATION AWARD – Iveria Inn
3. THE BEST DELUXE ACCOMMODATION AWARD – Radisson Blu Iveria Tbilisi
4. THE BEST WELLNESS & SPA RESORT AWARD – Rixos Borjomi
5. THE BEST MOUNTAIN ACCOMMODATION AWARD – Quadrumi
6. THE BEST SEA ACCOMMODATION AWARD – Sheraton Batumi
7. THE BEST LOW BUDGET ACCOMMODATION AWARD – Pushkini 10
8. THE BEST MICE TOURISM AWARD – Georgia Events
9. THE BEST WINE TOURISM AWARD – Chateau Mukhrani
10. THE BEST ADVENTURE TOURISM AWARD – Zeta Camping
11. THE BEST GEORGIAN TRADITIONAL RESTAURANT AWARD – Tsiskvili Group
12. THE BEST TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER AWARD – Giorgi Liparteliani
13. CONCEPT CAFÉ/RESTAURANT AWARD – Sirajkhana
14. THE BEST MARKETING CAMPAIGN OF TOURISM DESTINATION AWARD – Where.ge
15. THE BEST SPECIALIZED TOURISM SERVICES AWARD – Accessible Tourism Center PARSA
16. THE BEST HOTEL OF INTERNATIONAL CHAIN IN GEORGIA AWARD – Member of Acor Group Mercuri Tbilisi Old Town Hotel
17. THE FASTEST GROWING COMPANY OF THE YEAR IN THE SME SEGMENT AWARD – Best Western Kutaisi
18. THE BEST WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY AWARD – Founder of Accessible Tourism Center PARSA Tamar Makharashvili
19. THE BEST FESTIVAL OR EVENT AWARD – Tbilisi Open Air
20. THE BEST FESTIVAL OR EVENT AWARD – was also awarded to Kolga Tbilisi Festival for unique concept, this festival managed to mark Georgia on the Photo exhibitions’ map.
The Official Award Ceremony hosted more than 700 guests, including the first Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Dimitry Kumsishvili; Tbilisi Mayor, Kakha Kaladze; Head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration, Giorgi Chogovadze; all nominees and project partners; and representatives of the government sector, private business, international and local media.
The Award Ceremony was opened by Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, who noted that Georgia has high potential for raising awareness of its tourist destinations and the role of the each company involved in this field is vital for tourism development.
Welcoming guests, Vice Prime Minister Kumsishvili spoke about the importance of the tourism industry for Georgia’s economy, latest achievements in the field and the significance of the project. He then awarded Saba Kiknadze for Contribution to Tourism Development.
Co-Founder of the Award project, Maryna Chayka, also welcomed and thanked guests, partners and nominees for their participation in the Award Project and noted how each contribution to the Georgian tourism industry and its global aims.
320 different companies representing the tourism and hospitality market from all over Georgia, including hotels, travel agencies, festivals and events, restaurants, cafes, wineries, and travel photographers held the status of Nominee of the Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards 2017. Each nominee was assessed in accordance with internationally recognized methodology by a Professional Jury Board consisting of experts of the international and local travel, culture and hospitality markets. As a guarantee of fairness and transparency, Independent Auditor “BDO Georgia” monitored all processes, calculated the results and, based on the points awarded to each Nominee, determined the finalists and the winners in each nomination.
We spoke to George Sharshidze after he received THE BEST MARKETING CAMPAIGN OF TOURISM DESTINATION AWARD on behalf of the Where.ge team. “This is extremely valuable recognition for us, to have respected jury members, leaders and opinion-makers of Georgia’s hospitality industry, chose Where.ge as the best of the best. The prize goes to the whole team of Where.ge and GEORGIA TODAY, our journalists headed by Editor-in-Chief Katie Davies, marketing team, designers, photographers, distributors and every single contributor. And of course, we appreciate the support of our partners’; companies and organizations which have found the cooperation mutually beneficial. The Welcome to Georgia National Tourism Award is becoming more and more popular and prestigious within the hospitality industry, motivating all stakeholders across the sector, which as the Minister of Economy said at the ceremony, has a larger share in the Georgian economy than the aggregated export from Georgia. We will keep doing our best to achieve our goal of providing visitors from around the world with the most accurate information about Where to Go, Stay, Eat, Drink and Buy in Georgia and, through the recently launched web portal Where.ge, providing a 24/7 travel service including tailor-made tours in Georgia, booking hotels, renting cars and more.”
The main mission of the Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards is to encourage the development of the tourism and hospitality industry in Georgia and to promote awareness of the high-achieving tourism businesses and brands that create a positive image of the country worldwide.
For the third year, the Georgian National Tourism Administration, on behalf of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, was co-organizer of the Award Project. Tbilisi City Hall was the Official Supporter; Official Partner of the Award Project was Bank of Georgia. General Sponsor was Alliance Group. Sponsors were: Altido; Tbilisi Business Hub; Julius Meinl; Vesta; Ardi; Keune; Sarajishvili; The Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara; Dinehall; Vistoria Security; Iteq; Orient Logic; Elements Group; YanAir; UPS; Domson’s Engineering; Gagra Plus; Favorite Style; Profitex; STS Hospitality; Giffer; Megatechnica; Tbilvino; Budget; Lovely Roses; Hotel Partners: City Center; City Avenue; Lopota Spa Resort; Colosseum Marina; Grove Hotel; Coral Boutique Hotel; Divan Suites Batumi; Wyndham Batumi; and Chardonnay Boutique Hotel.
Katie Ruth Davies