The FINANCIAL — A successful company, stable growth income, good international press – unlimited hours of hard work stand behind these attractive realities. There comes a time when businessmen say it’s time to relax and plan their budget for a luxury holiday, especially when summer’s heat is upon us or the winter snow is already falling on the hills.
“I choose summer and winter resorts according to the convenience of getting there. I don’t like to spend too much time in airports waiting for connecting flights, or with overnight layovers. I prefer places that have direct flights (which is very difficult from Georgia),” Amy Denman, Executive Director of American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia (AmCham), told The FINANCIAL.
In her words, she also chooses resorts that offer relaxing amenities – either on a beach or with a great outdoor pool, and usually places that have a wonderful spa, hotels with full service.
“In winter I like to travel to a beach – a place where the weather is certain to be warm,” said Denman.
According to Denman she goes on holiday usually about 3 times a year. Summer holidays, Christmas and New Year holidays and sometimes a quick week’s holiday some time during the year.
She spends most of her money on plane tickets – probably at least USD 5,000 a year. When Denman travels in Europe she stays at nice hotels. In 2007, she spent USD 10,000 on this.
This year Denman plans to spend a short holiday in Istanbul and a longer holiday in America, and hopefully go to the Maldives in winter.
In Georgia, for a winter resort Denman likes Bakuriani and Gudauri. During summer she likes to go to Lagodekhi for day trips, or go rafting on the river. Denman enjoys going to Tbilisi Sea at the weekends. She is not a big fan of the black sea coast for holidays. The weather isn’t great, it is far to get there and the hotels are quite expensive. Turkey is a better option in her opinion.
When Denman travels abroad she almost always go to Naples, Florida in the winter, and Chicago and a beach house in Michigan during the summer. If she had more time, Denman would take a few weeks to travel to the coast of Spain, or the North of Denmark. She prefers nature and beach holidays to city holidays.
“The good thing about taking a holiday in Georgia is that I can do just a weekend. Most places that I enjoy are close enough to go to for just a few days. Gudauria, Bakuriani, Lagodekhi are nice for a long weekend. Svaneti and Tusheti are a bit more difficult to get to, so I would only go there if I had a long weekend. They are incredible places – and because I speak enough Georgian I can get around just fine,” claimed Denman. “The bad thing about taking holidays in Georgia – such as in Gudauri or Batumi, is that it is honestly more expensive than if I went to Turkey. The service is not as good nor is the accommodation up to the standards I want.”
As she later added, as for taking holidays abroad, the reason she does this is to get the service she likes. Proper restaurants, full-service hotels with wonderful spas, room service, excellent facilities, and luxurious comfortable beds. Denman enjoys the idea that she can call the concierge or the reception and they will take care of her every wish with a smile. That is sometimes difficult to find in Georgia.
“The essential conditions we expect from a hotel first and foremost is good service with a smile. I want to feel from the staff that “the customer is always right”. When they do everything possible to make me comfortable and pampered I relax and irritations dissolve. Also very important to me is the quality of the room. I love good king-sized hotel beds with soft linen. I expect 24 hour room service – absolutely. I prefer amenities such as a nice pool (not a tiny stupid pool), a proper spa (nice soft bathrobes, candles, quiet meditation music, and a steam room and jacuzzi). I also expect a concierge that can assist me when and if needed,” said Denman.
“What irritates me? Too small rooms, scratchy linen, poor climate control (rooms that are too hot or too cold), loud TV in the lobby, disco bars with loud music that keeps guests awake at night, no room service . . . oh, and instant coffee – I can’t tolerate it when a hotel serves me instant coffee instead of fresh coffee,” she added.
“I usually have two weeks to rest in summer. Last year I was forced to spend the summer holidays out of Georgia as my sister had a child and I had to visit her and the baby. Sometimes I combine visiting Georgia’s beautiful regions with professional duties while ProCredit Bank Georgia is opening new branches,” Plilipp Pott, General Manager of ProCredit Bank Georgia, told The FINANCIAL.
In his words, he’s not very good at skiing and has never had the pleasure of enjoying mountainous resorts.
“Although more and more people are telling me that I have to learn how to ski so maybe this year I’ll take that challenge,” stated Pott. “As for spending holidays outside of Georgia, my sister lives in Germany and last year I combined visiting my sister with a holiday in Denmark, as it was close. This year I’ll probably go to France.”
“Where I want to spend my summer and winter holidays mostly depends on how exhausted I am after the full working year. But I have noticed recently that I prefer to choose a place where I can really rest and yet still be entertained a little bit,” Ana Beriashvili, Operations Director of GWS, told The FINANCIAL.
Beriashvili usually has a holiday twice a year, in winter and summer. She has a kind of tradition, to visit her house in Racha each summer and try to spend at least one week there.
“So I will follow that tradition this year as well and then I plan to visit the Black Sea coast, perhaps Turkey,” she added.
Beriashvili’s favourite summer destinations are mountain resorts in Georgia, seasides abroad, she likes to visit the capitals of big countries, Paris being her favourite. The winter resort she appreciates most in Georgia is Bakuriani, and abroad – the Swiss Alps. It really is an amazing place of unforgettable experiences.
According to Beriashvili the pros and cons of taking a holiday in Georgia and abroad mostly depends on the company you’re in, it doesn’t matter where you are, each place has it’s particularity that cannot be met elsewhere, so generally she tries to appreciate her holidays to the full extent despite where she might be.
Of course it’s a big pleasure to visit 5 star hotels with the best services, but sometimes you can still have the most amazing holidays without them.
“I have not really calculated all my holiday expenses, but I think it should not comprise a huge amount,” said Beriashvili.
“I do consult the Leading Hotels of the World Guide when choosing a hotel – I have never been disappointed with the hotels they recommend,” said Victoria Shtorm, PR of Pepsi.
“Each year I go to Kiev and London to spend some time with my family and friends, and whatever time is left of my “holiday allowance” I divide between visits to friends in other cities and a sea holiday to some new country, so that apart from enjoying the sea I can learn something interesting and see something exciting (last year I spent two weeks in Cuba, a few days in Crete and had a holiday in Israel, so at the end was really overwhelmed by ‘cultural experiences’),” she added.
“I’ve already been to Kiev and London a few times and have planned a 10-day holiday in France with my parents for September, so I’m afraid that doesn’t leave much time for other destinations. My friends from London are inviting me to spend the Christmas holidays in St Moritz, and I’ll probably join them there. I do hope I will manage to go to Batumi at least for a few days this summer – I’ve got really good friends there and I love the city,” Shtorm told The FINANCIAL.
According to Shtorm her favourite sea resort is the Ritz Carlton in Bali, she is not a big fan of winter holidays, though she goes to Gudauri quite often. She likes Batumi and believes that it will be getting better and better each year. She has taken quite a few foreign friends there and they all loved it.
She spent a lot on holidays in 2007. “I'd rather not mention the amount,” she said.
When she lived in London, she’d spend her holidays in Georgia, as she was really fascinated by the country and tried to see as much of it as possible. She still travels around Georgia quite a lot, normally with friends visiting from abroad, though now she tends to spend holidays abroad, and thinks it is absolutely natural, as we all want a “change of scenery” every once in a while, to experience new things, meet new people. Georgia has a lot to offer for those who long to see unspoiled nature and ancient relics, who love hiking in the mountains and are looking for adventure.
She likes staying in hotels designed and managed with “local touches” (which have a restaurant with local cuisine, are decorated using the elements of traditional design, or where for example in the Ritz in Bali they have staff dressed in traditional clothes and where you can see local rituals performed or learn local dances) and always appreciates the things which make a stay in a particular hotel memorable – particularly attentive service (say, the staff always greet you by your name, or they bring you fruit while you are swimming in the swimming pool, or cover you with a warm shawl in the evening at a sea bar), or “little touches” in the décor. When going to the sea she’d normally choose a hotel with a spa and like everybody else she probably couldn’t do without a large comfy bed and a big terrace with a sea view either.
“Comfort and good entertainment conditions are important for me when choosing summer and winter resorts to rest at after months of exhausting work. I usually take a holiday only once a year. This year I am going to go to Turkey. The advantage of taking a holiday abroad is more comfort and the ability to see new countries. Essential conditions I expect from hotel facilities and services are conformable services and value for money,” Gocha Gogilashvili, Director of PSP, told The FINANCIAL.
According to Gogilashvili, Georgia is still far from providing ideal services, but it has to be noted that the situation is improving every year. More and more often the Georgian tourist industry is compared to such tourist centres as Turkey, Spain, France, Greece and Croatia.
“But we have to remember that they needed 20-30 years to build up to their standards of today whereas we started serious activities in the sphere only 3-4 years ago,” said Gogilashvili.
In his words, the government is doing everything to develop tourism in the country, more attention is being paid to Adjara especially, which can be seen from the services there. The government is financing special training programmes in tourism and inviting foreign professionals to provide trainings. The Tourism Training Centre has opened in Kobuleti for students and provides hope that the level of service will be highly increased in the future.
According to Georgian travel agencies most Georgians travel to Turkey and Egypt. The number of travellers is fast increasing each year.
“1,700 people travelled abroad in 2006 via our tourist agency and 2,100 people in 2007. Approximately 3,000 people will probably travel abroad this year. 200 people have already booked a tour in advance,” said Siko Gegiadze, Director of Travel Club.
“In 2007 approximately 600 people utilized airplane ticket services and 80 passengers – the full package. Approximately 700 people will probably buy tickets to travel abroad through our tourist agency this year and 150 people will buy a full package. 20 people have booked their tours in advance, we are offering different prices and even better services to customers this season,” Tsitsi Petriashvili, Tour-Operator Georgian Express Travel, said to The FINANCIAL.
According to Petriashvili most Georgians mainly travel to Turkey, Egypt, Dubai, Italy and the Czech Republic via their agency. Most often they travel to Turkey, where one week’s holiday costs USD 800 on average. They also provide travel insurance to their customers. Last year almost all passengers were insured.
“Georgian tourists most often travel to Turkey, Egypt, Cuba, the Czech Republic, France, Italy and Spain via our agency. It costs very much to travel to exotic countries, because air tickets cost far more than to these other countries,” said Zura Naroushvili, Director of InterContinental.
In Gegiadze’s words, Georgian tourists most often travel to Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Indonesia, Italy, France and Spain via their agency. Tourists most often travel to Turkey in the summer and Egypt in the winter. Indonesia is the most expensive place which some Georgians go to for their holidays. In general the most expensive resort is considered Taiti. An innovation being offered by Travel Club for travellers this year is a chartered flight to Tunisia.
Georgian travel agencies also offer internal tours for Georgian and foreign tourists.
“We have internal tours in almost all regions. There is as big a demand on internal tours from Georgians as from foreigners. The cost of one week’s tour in the most popular resorts in Georgia begin from GEL 200 per person,” said Petriashvili.
“We have internal tours in the Kakheti region, Kazbegi, Gori-Uplistsikhe and Vardzia, where both Georgian and foreign tourists travel alike,” said Gegiadze.
According to Naroushvili they have different types and specific internal tours in the whole of Georgia: in the mountains: Tusheti, Pshevi, Khevsureti, Svaneti and Racha. Cultural tours: in Kakheti, Qartli, Adjara and Samegrelo. There is a big demand on internal tours mainly from foreigners. The price of a holiday in a popular Georgian resort costs from GEL 350 for a 10 day package.
Most Georgians prefer to rest in their country’s resorts. This year Adjara expect more tourists than in 2007. The construction of many significant projects in Adjara started in 2008.
“This year we expect approximately 450,000 guests in Adjara including 140,000 foreigners from neighbouring countries, Turkey, Armenia, Byelorussia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan,” the Head of the Department of Tourism and Resorts Temur Diasamidze told The FINANCIAL.
According to statistics 250,000 people visited Adjara in 2006 and this number was increased up to 352,100 in 2007, including 113,000 foreigners.
As Diasamidze noted, “the construction of many significant projects started in 2007 in Batumi, among them Waterpark, a hotel complex on the corner of Gorgasali and Javakhishvili Streets, trade centre on 109 Bagrationi Street, carpark on 88 ERA Street and a sports and health complex on Khimshiashvili Street. Also an aquarium will be opened this year.
Many hotel complexes will be built as follows: on the territory of ex-hotels Meskheti and Medea, a hotel complex on Batusi Territory, hotel complex of Company Arsi, hotel and business centre on ex-territory of the stadium, hotel complex “Benze”, hotel complex “Belle-Vue”, hotel complex “Radisson”, hotel complex “Sheraton”, hotel “Georgian Palace”, hotel and sport complex “BatumiPlaza”. Additionally a new airport was opened in Batumi in 2007.
In February 2008 the new hotel “Istanbul” was opened in the centre of Batumi employing 35 people. There are 30 rooms in the hotel, all meeting high standards. In May hotel “Georgia Palace” was opened in Kobuleti. There are 156 rooms in the hotel and it has a health (spa) profile.
7 new hotels will be opened in Batumi, Kobuleti and Khelvachauri by the end of 2008. Nightclubs, restaurants, bungalows, discos, etc. are open on the seaside throughout the whole season.
“Recent investments made by Kazakhs have been very important for Adjara and for the whole of Georgia as well. In 2009 the construction of new hotels on the territories of ex-hotels “Medea” and “Meskheti” will be completed, which will be operated by the most popular brands of the world. At the request of the investors, Europe’s leading consulting companies participated in the development of the projects. With their help all the projects have more specific financial and marketing outlooks and therefore there is no question that the projects will achieve success after implementation,” said the Head of the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara.
According to Diasamidze the prices for hotels are mainly defined based on the market demand. It also depends on the class of the hotel. In high season the owners of many private hotels increase prices purposefully and do not improve the quality of their services according to the higher prices. Therefore there is a discrepancy between the level of service and the price, which is of course reflected in the guest’s satisfaction. Unfortunately, by this price policy many hotel owners encounter trouble unintentionally.
Income from tourism holds 14% in the Adjara Budget, but it must also be noted that all over the world income from tourism cannot be defined precisely, as tourism income covers many fields, almost 60, including transportation, food and communication, therefore accurate calculation of all tourism-related income is not possible.
Written by Sopho Kheladze
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