Ministerial under the aegis of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on the Future Prospects of Tourism Industry will be hosted in Georgia in September 2020 to gather Ministers of Tourism from several dozens of countries. It became known at the video conference of Giorgi Gakharia, Prime Minister of Georgia and Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General of the UNWTO today.

Pololikashvili welcomed the Tourism Recovery and Anti-Crisis Plan released by the Government of Georgia, thereby noting that country made very prudent and successful measures, including those aimed at becoming the first country in the world to re-open its tourism industry.

Successful experience of Georgia in the fight against the coronavirus and service delivery to citizens in the quarantine zones was underlined during the video conference as the referred measures turned into a competitive advantage, which will be used by the country by all means.

Secretary General of the UNWTO also praised the decision made by the Government of Georgia on classifying various recreation areas of the country as Green Zones for Tourism. Attention was paid to the concept of safe corridors, which are negotiated both with neighboring countries as well as with other markets of interest for tourism. Prime Minister of Georgia particularly stressed the importance of support from the UNWTO in this process.

Head of Government of Georgia noted that apart from being one of the most significant locomotives of the national economy, tourism is an industry with competitive advantages, which may facilitate further, post-pandemic economic advancement of Georgia.

In the opinion of Pololikashvili, Georgia is well positioned and strategically located, with all its tourism infrastructure developed in recent years to turn into a rather competitive destination in the given circumstances, while the UNWTO will do its best to facilitate this process of coordination with target markets of interest to Georgia.

Video Conference also engaged Natia Turnava, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia; Mariam Kvrivishvili, Head of National Tourism Administration of Georgia; H.E. Ilya Giorgadze, Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary of Georgia to the Kingdom of Spain and Beka Liluashvili, Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister of Georgia.