The FINANCIAL — During the grand celebration of New Year in Batumi, the Black Sea city will host more than 15,000 tourists, according to the Department of Tourism and Resorts of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara.
The Georgian Government is spending a huge amount of money on evens planned in Batumi. The Tourism Department of Adjara has paid USD 100,000 for a single TV commercial shot by Imedi TV channel. According to the local government, 80% of the local hotels are already fully booked for the period.
The Government of Adjaria is coordinating the special New Year celebration in Batumi. Lasha Oniani who currently works in Germany, is the stage director.
A Santa Claus parade, the Grand New Year Concert in Europe Square, Jose Kareras’ concert, a laser show and fireworks, an English DJ playing techno music, the famous saxophonist Igor Butman, and other unforgettable events are planned to be held from December 31 until January 3.
Some restaurants have already scheduled various celebratory events for the days over New Year.
Georgia Palace Hotel, an exclusive five-star hotel located on the Black Sea shore of Georgia's famed summer resort in Kobuleti, offers extraordinary New Year program for special prices. VIP amenities in each room, celebrating dinner, live music performance, New Year lottery, discotheque, laser show will be offered for guests during three days.
Price for three nights, two persons, is USD 399.
“Batumi will host about 15,000 tourists, from Georgia and also its neighbouring countries. We have already supplied all tourist companies in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine with our New Year programme and special discount packages for the period,” Malkhaz Malakmadze, Head of the Marketing Department of Tourism and Resorts of the Autonomous Region of Adjara, told The FINANCIAL.
Malakmadze says that about 25-30% of the tourists will be foreigners. Most of the foreign tourists are expected to be from Turkey.
Malakmadze is optimistic that the ostentatious show will be crucial for the further development and popularization of the region.
“In summer 2009, from June to September Adjara hosted 442,590 tourists in total. 133,770 were foreigners. We expect to host more than 800,000 tourists in the summer 2010. We expect to see a 55% increase of tourists compared with 2009. Such grandiose performances and visits from international celebrities will positively affect the popularity of our region. As well as by local TV companies, the lavish New Year programme will be broadcasted by international informational sources and this will positively influence the attractiveness of Adjara’s image as a tourist destination. In the future Batumi will attract tourists throughout the year, not only during the summer season, and this will further encourage the development of the tourism sector of Adjara,” he says.
“About 85% of the best hotels’ rooms are already booked up. On New Year Eve’s this figure will reach 90%. Demand is also rising for residential spaces. All information about rent of private residences is available at tourist centres,” Malakmadze states.
The total number of hotels in Batumi is 67; combined they can host about 3,000 guests.
“We did our best to advertise our programmes over the internet. Detailed information about our events are accessible at www.adjaratv.ge, also on the websites: www.Tourismadjara.ge, www.adjara.gov.ge, and www.moecs.ge,” Malakmadze says.
The biggest travel event of the year – the New Year in Batumi is already tagged on world leading social networking website facebook. The fan page address is: facebook.com/NewYearBatumi. Here tourists can get updates about the events planned, information about hotels, special tours etc.
According to Malakmadze, in 2009 the budget of the tourism department of Adjara was 650,000 GEL. In 2010 it will be 1,500,000 GEL.
TV Company Imedi shot a TV commercial about the special New Year programmes in Batumi.
“The total cost of shooting the commercial was GEL 100,000,” Malakmadze declares.
“We are stating concrete figures about the expected number of guests based on the reservations that we already have. However, we think that the number of visitors from Turkey will be larger. They will increase on the first and second of January. We have already informed tourist agencies in Turkey about the special New Year programme planned in Batumi and relevant special prices, including discounts at hotels, restaurants and clubs,” declares Temur Diasamidze, Chairman of the Department of Tourism and Resorts of the Autonomous Region of Adjara.
“All the hotel’s rooms are already reserved. We have been offering special packages for our customers. The price per person is 600 GEL for three days and 730 GEL for two persons. As I was informed, the demand at other hotels is similar. Most rooms in the city are already reserved. About 60% of our guests are from Tbilisi, the rest are foreigners, including both the participants and organizers of the evening,” says Lasha Melikadze, Financial Manager of Hotel Intourist, Batumi.
“About 90% of our rooms are already reserved. We have 25 rooms and can host 130 guests in total. During the planning stage for the New Year programme, the representatives of Batumi’s hotels met with the Department of Tourism of the region of Adjara. We were informed that until January 3, most of the hotels in Batumi will be fully booked,” notes Elena Kartulidi, General Manager of hotel Alik, Batumi.
50% of the rooms of Hotel Amirani are still free, but Nani Nakashidze, owner of the hotel, says that after the large scale hotels become fully booked then it will be her hotel’s turn. “Our hotel is not large, we can host just 30 persons. The largest hotels in Batumi are already overloaded and we will be next to receive guests from different countries coming here to celebrate an unforgettable New Year in Batumi,” she says.
Nakashidze notes that usually winter is not a very active period for the region of Adjara and now they hope to benefit with the help of attractive programmes organized by the Government. “We are optimistic about the further popularity of Batumi. Lots of world brands are entering our city, top brand hotels are being constructed here, and also the municipality is doing everything to being the region as close as possible to international standards and demands.”
Hotel Amirani is offering significant discounts. “Compared with summer prices, we have reduced prices by 50%. The price for a standard room is 50 GEL and 100 GEL for our Lux rooms,” Nakashidze says.
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