Page 40 - GEORptJul19

under the Chana brand. It operates joint ventures with Ford (Changan Ford), Groupe PSA (Changan PSA), Mazda (Changan Mazda) and Suzuki (Changan Suzuki) which produce foreign branded passenger cars for the Chinese market.
9.1.3 Transport sector news
Budapest-based carrier WizzAir has launched 12 new flights from Georgia's second important city Kutaisi to European cities, including the first flights to Kutaisi from Sweden and Finland. Given the context, the government officials stressed the importance of the move for the country’s tourism industry, which is striving currently to keep to fast growth seen in recent years and offset an embargo announced by Russian authorities.
"I am glad that the intensive negotiations have been successfully completed and we have signed an agreement for direct flights with 12 new European cities," Natia Turvanava, the Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, said after the signing of the new agreement with WizzAir.
"This is a unique opportunity to get extra European tourists. It is especially interesting that we will have direct flights to Sweden and Finland for the first time. As you know, there is a growing interest towards visiting Georgia in Scandinavia and, therefore, we will be able to take tourists from these countries. This is the result of intensive negotiations that have been successfully completed," Turnava commented.
The efforts for supporting tourism in Georgia are being embraced at very local levels as well.
Patriotic Georgian homeowners are making use of their property in an unusual way - by inviting strangers to stay for free, amid fears that the new spat with Russia will hurt the country’s economy, Radio Free Europe reported.
“I decided to do this to raise awareness about Georgia ... and help the economy,” said Ani Nikolaishvili, a 28-year-old who normally rents her Tbilisi apartment for $40 a night but was now waiving all fees for the first five days of each guest’s stay.
Through January-April 2019 passenger traffic at Georgia’s airports increased by 20% to 1,208,422 passengers, according to United Airports of Georgia under the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development. The growth rate was 23% in 2018.
Georgia’s ski slopes, eco-tourism facilities and Black Sea resorts are visited by a rising number of tourists, with a positive impact on the country’s current account balance.
In April, Tbilisi International Airport served 331,523 passengers, some 12% more compared to the same period of last year (296,163). In January-April, passenger traffic at the airport increased by 11%.
Batumi airport saw over 36,532 passengers in April 2019, 16% more compared to the same period of 2018. The four-month data set also shows that the airport served 88,448 passengers 30% up year on year.
The rising passenger volumes are partly explained by the expansion of tourism supported by infrastructure work. For instance, Okatse waterfall, located in Kinchkha village in the Khoni Municipality of Imereti region in western Georgia, has opened for visitors following a renovation. Mamuka Bakhtadze, the Prime Minister of Georgia, visited the site when paying a visit to the village earlier this week.
"The new eco-tourism infrastructure at Okatse Waterfall will triple the number of tourists visiting this most beautiful destination," he said.
40 GEORGIA Country Report July 2019 www.intellinews.com