Economy Minister expects private sector to invest, take “active” part in Tskaltubo spa resort project
In his statement, the Minister also said “proper development” of the resort would see Tskaltubo join the list of “great spa cities” including Baden-Baden in Germany, Karlovy Vary in Czech Republic and Montecatini Terme in Italy, highlighting the “full potential” of the Georgian location to host visitors during all four seasons. Photo: Ministry of Economy.
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Georgia’s Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Tuesday said he expected the private sector to be “very active” and invest at least ₾500 million (about $170mln/€166mln) in rehabilitation project for western Georgia’s Soviet-era Tskaltubo resort.
Davitashvili said the project would create at least 3,200 jobs directly - both during the construction and rehabilitation works and subsequent operation - over the next few years and have a “significant spillover effect” on the wider region.
The project includes the creation of a “unique, modern” spa-resort in Tskaltubo, establishment of medical tourism services, rehabilitation of the city centre and public spaces, as well as opening of five premium-class and five middle-class hotels, in addition to four other facilities offering different types of accommodation.
Photo: Ministry of Economy.
Davitashvili noted the infrastructure would enable the resort to host up to 350,000 visitors and become an “attractive place for investment” not only for hotels but also for the supporting tourism industry infrastructure. The Minister estimated the project would increase local real estate prices tenfold.
This unique resort is distinguished primarily by healing waters and outstanding nature. [...] These are thermal, gaseous and radioactive waters with unique properties, which have no analogues in the world”, Davitashvili said at the presentation.
In his statement, the Minister also said “proper development” of the resort would see Tskaltubo join the list of “great spa cities” including Baden-Baden in Germany, Karlovy Vary in Czech Republic and Montecatini Terme in Italy, highlighting the “full potential” of the Georgian location to host visitors during all four seasons.
Davitashvili also praised the role of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the former Prime Minister and founder of Georgian Dream party, in the initiative for restoring the resort.
The project Tskaltubo's New Life PDF can be accessed at the following link
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday said that the Georgian Government would invest additional “tens of millions” of GEL in the effort to rehabilitate the long-neglected Soviet-era Tskaltubo resort into a “modern, world-class” spa location.
A group of students of Caucasus Tourism School of Georgia and the George Washington University in the United States have been introduced to the potential of wine and gastronomic tourism in eastern Georgia’s winemaking region of Kakheti, the Georgian National Tourism Administration announced on Tuesday.
Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday marked the launch of the construction of the Hadron Therapy Centre in western Georgia’s city of Kutaisi by calling the prospective venue an “unprecedented and unique” medical facility of “international scale” that would serve Georgian citizens and patients from across the South Caucasus.
Kutaisi International University (KIU), the first state university built in Georgia since the country restored its independence in 1991, has received its first intake of students today. So far KIU has three English-language programs for bachelor’s degrees – Management, Mathematics and Computer Science. Gakharia also mentioned that Kutaisi, which has always been a centre of Georgian science, culture and development, will also become an educational centre of the country.
Considering Georgia as an investment destination is a “very attractive proposition”, with the operating environment in the country being significantly improved along with an increase of the gross domestic product per capita, businessman and TV analyst Mark Haynes Daniell said on Wednesday after the Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili introduced a development plan for western Georgia’s Soviet-era Tskaltubo resort town to representatives of the private sector.
Prospects of cooperation and investments in various directions in Georgia were discussed between Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Yıldırım Demirören, the Chairman of Demirören Holding, an Istanbul-based investment holding, on Thursday.
Georgian economy minister Levan Davitashvili on Wednesday said the ministry was working for the development of the Georgian resorts and would offer privatisation packages to the private sector already this year.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday said his Government had studied the potential of more than 100 currently unused and former resorts across Georgia and would put them up for privatisation.
The Qatari company Golden Tower Invest Group will create "high-level" hotel, recreation and health infrastructure in western Georgia’s Soviet-era Tskaltubo resort as part of a project aiming to restore the former sanatoriums of the locality into a modern spa resort destination, the Georgian Ministry of Economy announced on Monday.
New locations in Georgia’s eastern, western and southwestern regions will be turned into resorts for winter sports, medical therapy and other purposes, as the Government looks to privatise around 50 currently unused areas next year, Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili revealed on Friday.
Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili on Saturday introduced the country’s balneological and medical tourism potential to the representatives of the European tourism industry at the 68th European Commission of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation in Bulgaria.