Adjara will be Hosting Guests throughout the Year

The FINANCIAL — The region of Adjara will be a fully-fledged international destination soon, receiving guests throughout the year.

Millions of dollars of investments in the fields of tourism, construction and others has already boosted the number of visitors to the Black Sea coastal region.

In 2010 the number of visitors was of record number. Adjara was visited by 635,360 tourists as of 19 August, 2010, while in 2009 the region was visited by only 291,392 tourists and in 2008 – 169,116.

“Our main goal is to host tourists not just in the summer season but throughout the whole year, to this purpose we are working to develop ski resorts in the mountains of Adjara. Another interesting and important direction is eco-tourism (there are three protected territories in Adjara),” declared Grigol Tsamalashvili, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Adjara.

“As well as the ‘sun & beach’ directions in Adjara, MICE (meetings, conferences, exhibitions and other activities) tourism will be developed in the future. This will support hotels during the off-peak season,” said Sophie Nikolaishvili, Head of the Division of Planning and Statistics at the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara.

To develop these directions Batumi is already hosting an international tourism exhibition held in the spring, Batumi film festival held in the autumn and other sports and cultural activities throughout the year.

“The priority sector of the region is tourism and consequently the majority of investments are in this sector.

From the total investment of 140 million USD approximately half, 68 million USD, went in to the tourism sector in 2009, followed by the construction sector with 56 million USD, industry with 11 million USD, transport and communication – 2 million USD and 5 million USD invested in other sectors,” declared Zaza Gumberidze, Head of the Investment Policy Department of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara.

“For the region’s development all sectors are of vital importance. Adjara has quite large potential in renewable energy as well as in agricultural development. The agricultural sector represents a sector which needs constant attention and support from the Government,” said Tsamalashvili.

“The tourism and services spheres are of the utmost priority, as there will always be Georgian as well as international visitors to the area. The number of tourists is increasing annually and this demands more investment in tourism infrastructure from the Government. Last year the majority of private investments were in the field of tourism. 

Moreover, from the transitional viewpoint of Adjara, transport infrastructure presents one of the most important sectors of the economy,” added Tsamalashvili.

The number of Georgians visiting the Black Sea coast is twice as many as foreigners.

The number of internal visitors reached 426,520 individuals as of 19 August, 2010, twice as many compared to 2009 when Adjara was visited by only 201,891 individuals, and in 2008 – 113,408 individuals. 

The number of foreign visitors increased. As of 19 August, 2010, the number of foreign visitors had reached 208,840, while in 2009 the figure was 89,503 and in 2008 – only 55,708 individuals.

“The Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara registers visitors without distinction of visit aim. Out of 1,000 people surveyed 91% admitted they visited the region for rest, 3% were business travellers and the remaining 6% for different reasons according to the market research carried out by the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara,” said Nikolaishvili.

The total state investment in Adjara reached 574.5 million GEL over a four year period. The investment being both from the Autonomous Republic of Adjara and from the local municipal budget.

The total investment has already reached 254.5 million GEL in 2010, twice as much compared to in 2009, when total investment was only 129 million GEL.

Gumberidze declares that foreign direct investment exceeds local investment in the region of Adjara. As for the total investment of 140 million USD in 2009, only 42 million USD was of local investment while the remaining 98 million USD was of foreign origins.

“The planned investment in 2011 will be 161 million GEL, in 2012 – 153 million GEL, in 2013 – 163 million GEL and in 2014 – 158 million GEL. As for private investment the numbers are still unavailable as there are ongoing negotiations about various projects,” declared Gumberidze.

At present, the Government of Adjara is working on the project – the Economic Development Strategy of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, which is at its final stage of development.

“The document represents the state of different industries in the economy of Adjara. The strategy also notes the strong and weak sides of the industries and consequently what should be done in order to improve the situation.

Our aim is that the economical policies of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara within the framework of its competency and rights be more systematic, missionary and foreseen. Five years is a conditional period as some directions are in a stage of development and soon to be finalized. However, some other directions do require a time period of more than five years,” said Tsamalashvili.

Tsamalashvili says that the region is developing quite fast. Batumi and the entire region are undergoing quite a few infrastructural projects. These include the building of new water supply and sewerage systems, the rehabilitation of roads and buildings, gasification, also the construction of modern buildings, hotels, entertainment and shopping centres, transportation infrastructure, as well as new industries.

After the five year period the majority of these projects will be finished and the region of Adjara will be even more developed, beautiful and attractive than it is at the moment.