Page 58 - GEORptSep21

30mn lari of tourism projects announced for Georgia’s Adjara region
Despite the relative recovery seen in tourism, its volume amounts to 85% less than was seen in the pre-pandemic period, looking at May 2019.
Also, it is not only that the impressive April GDP expansion (+19% versus April 2019) visibly overstates the state of the country’s economy, the recovery in tourism is still iffy and fragile compared to the pre-crisis basis.
According to the tourism statistics, more than half of the visitors, some 52,688, entered the country by air in May. Land borders were opened as of June 1, which was broadly seen as highly encouraging, but the share of 70% visitors coming in across land borders might again overstate the impact in terms of tourism revenues.
According to an estimate by Galt & Taggart, Georgia will receive $1.2bn from tourism this year—still a major plunge from the €3.3bn in 2019.
"Opening the land borders from June 1 will facilitate the gradual recovery of tourism. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, 70% of the total tourism flow was coming by land. We expect that in 2021, Georgia will receive $ 1.2 billion from tourism, which is 36% of 2019 tourism revenue,” the investment bank said. Last year, Georgia lost tourism revenues of $2.7bn, as revenues from international tourism dropped to $542mn compared to $3.27bn in 2019.
It is also noteworthy that Galt & Taggart has raised its 2021 economic growth forecast for Georgia to 7%.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili and Adjara government chairman Tornike Rizhvadze announced on August 18 five new tourism projects for Adjara’s Shuakhevi municipality, with a total investment value of around GEL 30mn ($9.6mn).
One of the projects involves the construction of a dual zipline in Chikhuri. GEL10mn will be spent on the zipline, envisaged as the longest in Europe. Another project is the Chvani Gorge Tourism Development Plan, which includes new trails, visitor centres, scenic view spots and a demonstration village showcasing authentic mills. The project's value is estimated at GEL10mn.
Another project, in Gomarduli resort, seeks to build toboggan and aerial lifts, to breathe new life into the ski resort. The project's value also amounts to GEL10mn.
Tourist shelters and camping sites are under construction on Mount Jvarimindori in Shuakhevi, with a budget of GEL250,000. Expected to be completed in late October, the project there will put in place a mountain link between Shuakhevi municipality and Guria province.
In the same vein, pedestrian/bike trails stretching across Keda and Shuakhevi municipalities are also under construction to support the development of adventure tourism. The project budget for the trails is about GEL500,000.
9.1.6 Infrastructure and construction sector news
Georgia to start Anaklia deepwater port project from scratch
Georgia’s Ministry of Economy has asked international consulting company Maritime & Transport Business Solutions (MTBS) to update the freight forecast and business model for the Anaklia deep sea port project on the Black Sea coast. The update is expected to be completed within eight to nine weeks.
The government terminated its contract with the Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) in early 2020, citing the investors’ failure to finance their intended $2.6bn project and find a strategic partner.
The government was set to start the process of selecting a new potential investor for another attempt at rolling out a project in the near future, Georgian
58 GEORGIA Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com