Vaccination in tourism industry to start in 2 days
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Thursday, May 6
The main topic of yesterday’s meeting of leaders of the Association in the field of tourism with the Minister of Economy and the Head of the Tourism Administration Medea Janiashvili was the vaccination of people employed in the field.
As Shota Burjanadze, the head of the Association of Restaurants said after the meeting, the vaccination of those employed in the industry will start in 3 days, and those who want to be vaccinated via Astrazeneca, Sinopharm or Sinovac, will be able to register on a special portal from May 6. Vaccination will be voluntary.
"There are only a few countries in the world that apply this practice and Georgia is the first in the region to say that our tourism industry will be the safest," said the minister.
According to her, it's very important that the government offers vaccinated hotels and restaurants, and participates in international marketing. y.
In addition, Burjanadze came up with an initiative to encourage vaccinated users.
"Those who are vaccinated will receive certain benefits from both the state and private companies. My initiative was to offer some discounts to the vaccinated customers,” she clarified, adding that the issue of lifting restrictions on the sector is no less important.
"If the curfew and weekend restrictions are not lifted, vaccination will not make sense. The state gives us a positive answer to these questions and tells us that they are working on these issues, but the result always says more than any statement,” said the head of the restaurant association.
The issue of opening the land borders was also discussed at the meeting. According to the Minister of Economy, Georgia is working to open the land borders by the same principle as the air borders.
“For example: it will be easier for vaccinated visitors to enter Georgia, as well as for those who have taken the test, etc,” Turnava explained.
Acting head of the National Tourism Administration Medea Janiashvili says that the general goal is to restore the tourism sector as effectively as possible, vaccination and prioritization of the tourism sector is a prerequisite for this.
“Let's encourage the facilities that are undergoing the voluntary vaccination process to advertise their facilities as safe,” Janiashvili said. The list of companies that have vaccinated employees will be posted on the tourist web platform.
