Mtirala National Park wins 2020 World Travel Awards
It was the 27th competition by the World Travel Awards since its foundation in 1993. Photo: Ministry of Environmental Protection.
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Mtirala National Park, a protected area in Adjara region of western Georgia has won the 2020 World Travel Awards and was named as 'Georgia's Leading National Park 2020' beating Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, Kazbegi National Park, Kolkheti National Park and Lagodekhi National Park.
Voting was open to the public until September 24 on the official website of the organisation.
It was the 27th competition by the World Travel Awards since its foundation in 1993.
Mtirala National Park covers approximately 15,698 hectares in the municipalities of Kobuleti, Khelvachauri and Keda, located in between the Black Sea and the Adjara Mountains 30 kilometers away from Batumi.
Mtirala National Park was founded in 2007. It is the rainiest place in Georgia and that is why it is called Mtirala (a person who cries a lot in Georgian).
The park area is covered with unique forests and shrubs.
Mtirala National Park offers a variety of ecotourism services to visitors.
Visitor centres in Georgia’s protected areas will be closed for 10 days starting tomorrow, says the Agency of Protected Areas. The decision has been made to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
New protected areas will be created in the Racha region, western Georgia, says the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Georgia.
The area of the country's protected territories will increase by 100,000 hectares in 2020, said Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia at a government meeting earlier today.
A new national park will be set up in western Georgia's Guria province to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystems of local forests and promote tourism in the area.
Five of Georgia's most impressive protected areas have been hosting visitors free of charge to mark World Tourism Day on Monday, with dozens of museum spaces across the country set to follow suit on Tuesday. In a move to celebrate the international date, the tourism and national park bodies made the five locations accessible without admission fee.
Georgia has created a new, 10-year ecotourism strategy which sets a goal of making the country the leading, year-round ecotourism destination in the Caucasus region by 2030 based on its rich living culture and nature as well as high-quality hospitality services.
The number of ecotourists visiting locations in Georgia has quadrupled since 2012 and reached a record high of 1,200,000 in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, the Georgian Agency of Protected Areas revealed on Thursday.
The Caucasus Nature Fund (CNF) will allocate €120,000 to finance Machakhela National Park.