Georgian National Tourism Administration and USAID/Zrda to Launch the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Destination Management Organization (DMO)
Thursday, December 13
On December 11, in Zugdidi, USAID/Zrda Chief of Party Brian King and Head of Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA) Giorgi Chogovadze joined the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Deputy Governor Nino Vibliani to announce intention to launch the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Destination Management Organization (DMO) designed to position and market the region as one of Georgia’s premier tourism destinations.
“Through establishing the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti DMO, Zrda and GNTA are jointly introducing a best practice destination management approach to ensure that tourism adds value to the local and national economy, generates new employment opportunities, and contributes to the sustainable development of the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti communities,” USAID/Zrda Chief of Party Brian King told The Messenger.
As such, the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti DMO will serve as an advocate for inclusive and holistic tourism industry development across the region, and facilitate multifaceted dialogue in which tourism, industry, government and community leaders plan future tourism development together to effectively manage this destination, attract fresh investments, foster job creation, and boost innovation. In parallel, Zrda and GNTA are partnering to launch DMO in Samtskhe-Javakheti while GNTA, in partnership with the World Bank, will launch DMOs in Kakheti and Imereti.
“I am proud to be here to demonstrate USAID’s continuous support for the development of the tourism industry in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region. The tourism development can bring enormous benefits and employment opportunities to this region and is a growing and dynamic sector for the whole country,” David Tsiklauri of USAID/Georgia said on Tuesday.
Since 2016, Zrda and GNTA have partnered to promote a regional tourism development model in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti and Samtskhe-Javakheti regions, and together with the regional working groups, organized two Regional Tourism Development Symposiums to identify tourism development priorities in both regions.
“Georgia’s fast-growing tourism sector requires a holistic approach to support regional tourism development through new tourism product development, promoting new tourism destinations and attractions, and raising international quality standards within actors across the tourism sector. Creation of the DMO can bring enormous benefits and opportunities to this region attract fresh investments, develop value-added jobs, recruit new talents, and boost innovation,” GNTA Head Giorgi Chogovadze said on the event.
With this in mind, Zrda collaborates with Georgian inbound tour operators to develop new products in line with global trends and international tourism demand. Zrda has fostered the development of new experiential and indigenous tourism products across communities in these regions and facilitated a series of informational tours to introduce new products to tour operators, and sponsored several workshops and trainings sharing international best practices. As a result of this activity, the value of total sales generated by partner tour operators and supported attractions and destinations has reached $3.2 million. To-date, Zrda-supported accommodation providers and catering businesses which registered with major international online booking engines, such as Booking.com, Tripadvisor.com, and AirBnB.com have generated over $5.5 million in sales.
Zrda has also supported internationally recognized certification trainings for 60 wilderness guides and instructors in canyoning, rafting, hiking, trekking and diving, resulting in the first ever internationally certified instructors for these activities in Georgia. As a complementary activity, Zrda in partnership with GNTA supported the positioning of 38 e-maps of hiking trails in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region on www.wikiloc.com- search engine popular worldwide among adventure lovers.
