The FINANCIAL — The country’s combination of breathtaking nature, centuries-old cultural heritage and a varied topography makes Georgia a highly desirable place for eco-enthusiast travellers.
The country is now expecting 3 million tourists by the end of this year. 2011’s statistics have already shown a 41% increase in number of tourists compared to the same period of 2010.
Overland camping trips near to protected areas of the countryside offer tourists an insight into the impact of human beings on the environment and foster a greater appreciation of our natural habitats.
The total area of such protected areas at present reaches 495,892 hectares, which is about 7% of the country’s total territory, in addition about 75% of protected areas are covered by forests.
There are 14 Strict Nature Reserves, 8 National Parks, 12 Managed Nature Reserves, 14 Natural Monuments and 2 Protected Landscapes in Georgia.
Such a size of protected areas and alpine forests sets the country aside from mass tourism destinations worldwide and provides a cutting edge alternative for tourists willing to explore and discover thrilling examples of flora and fauna.
Tourists attracted by various such travel routes have already led to a 41% increase in the number (1st quarter) compared to the same period last year.
As Maia Sidamonidze, Chairwoman of the Georgian National Tourism Agency said in an interview with The FINANCIAL, “The number of tourists coming to Georgia is expected to reach 3 million by the end of the year, peak season being the coming summer.”
“Georgia has beautiful natural resources and sites but we do not preserve and conserve our surrounding environment properly. Any policy that the Government introduces won’t be effective if the Georgian population does not practise and implement it. I think that the major problem here is waste.”
Development of sustainable tourism is very important for Georgia as it also means development in a way that does not have a negative impact on the environment, on the local community and does not reduce the availability of natural resources and wildlife in the country.
The number of eco-friendly travellers is increasing in Georgia. Eco-tourism is trendy, popular and in high demand. It’s not only about visiting natural sites but is also about conserving the environment. It is playing a part in the green movement but one should not confuse Green Tourism with Eco-Tourism. They have different definitions and are very often misused as both are very trendy.
Q. Can Georgia be branded/labelled a destination of eco-tourism? Which part of Georgia can be considered one of those best destinations?
A. For sure! The distribution of eco-tourism products is so rich, even among the less obviously touristic regions of the country.
Q. What other eco-tourism-related plans do you have for this year?
A. We need to create an eco-tourism development strategy with the aid of UNWTO. We need to develop new products, new routes and attract more eco-friendly travellers to Georgia.
Q. How about the importance of protected areas in Georgia – how can they best be used to develop the eco-tourism direction and how many such sites do we have?
A. Eco-tourism means visiting natural resources and sites that also represent the country’s protected areas. The importance of protected areas is vital in developing eco-tourism.
At present the total area of Protected Areas is 495,892 hectares, which is about 7% of the country’s territory. About 75% of Protected Areas are covered by forests.
There are 14 Strict Nature Reserves, 8 National Parks, 12 Managed Nature Reserves, 14 Natural Monuments and 2 Protected Landscapes in Georgia.
Georgia has numerous such sites and the Agency of Protected Areas is working very actively to further develop such sites.
We have just started working on this with UNWTO. We believe that eco-tourism should be one of the major fields of niche tourism in Georgia attracting travellers of specific interests to the country who are willing to explore natural sites and at the same time contribute to conservation. There are various issues but with the right strategy the result should be positive.
Currently GNTA is preparing for the summer season. We have many projects and initiatives to promote Georgia internationally, to increase tourist inflow in the country, to boost domestic tourism, to develop infrastructure, to improve information availability for tourists, to exceed expectations of travellers in the hospitality services sector and finally to provide value for money for domestic and international travellers. We will introduce specific projects and initiatives to the media and to the private sector shortly, before the summer season starts.
Georgia has a unique and diverse tourism product and therefore the fields of potential tourism are also diverse. Such fields include: Adventure Tourism, Cultural Tourism, Wine Tourism, Rural Tourism, Eco-Tourism, Gourmet Tourism, etc. All of them are more or less developed and practiced in Georgia. But we should not forget about developing new products in order to gain the competitive advantage on international markets. Especially when the country has rich natural resources and wildlife we should exploit those opportunities in developing not only eco-tourism but also responsible, sustainable and green tourism where all of them somehow contribute to preservation of the local environment and community.
It is very popular to talk about “Green” nowadays. Words such as sustainability, responsible and green are used very often but also misused most of the time. They all differ in definition. More or less what they have in common is environment preservation and conservation, minimizing negative impacts on the environment; they represent a form of tourism that does not reduce the availability of natural resources and wildlife. In Green Tourism travellers are eco-friendly who minimize waste, are energy efficient and recycle. Finally, in eco-tourism travellers go to visit natural resources and sites at the same time as conserving the environment.
Q. How about the development of bicycle lanes in the capital city or in other tourism spots (Signagi, Mtskheta) – is it likely that tourists will use bicycles rather than taxis/cars to get around the city and enjoy cycling throughout their travel in Georgia?
A. Cycling is very good not only for tourists but for the local population as well as it promotes a healthy lifestyle. It’s not impossible but it would be more difficult in Tbilisi as the land surface is not flat enough and for people like me it would not even be considered safe enough to ride a bicycle. But Batumi has already done it and it’s very popular with tourists. Bicycle taxi is also an excellent idea for destinations such as Signagi, Kvareli, Mtskheta, etc.
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