New locations in Georgia’s regions to be turned into ski, balneology resorts
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. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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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.
Interpressnews cited Davitashvili as confirming Zekari in the Kakheti region in the east, Chutkharo Pass in the western Kvemo Racha region, village of Samshvilde in southeastern Kvemo Kartli and Uraveli in the southern Samtskhe-Javakheti would be among the new areas designated as resorts.
The Minister said Chutkharo had potential to become a “leading ski resort of the country”, while Uraveli could be restored as a balneological resort and Samshvilde could realise its “historical significance”.
He also noted development of roads and other infrastructure would be “crucial” to ensure tourism in the new locations and “create an appropriate environment to attract investors”, and revealed the Government was planning to put up to 50 designated resort areas for privatisation starting in March 2023.
The official added the Government had studied specific potential of over 100 currently unused and former resorts across the country, with 300 areas catalogued more generally.
“By 2023, I hope to have all 300 sites studied [while] [w]e have now [also] started detailed feasibility studies on these [select] resorts with the involvement of professional companies”, Davitashvili noted.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Thursday said the Government was launching a set of “complex steps” to develop resorts across the country, in opening remarks for the first international conference Trends and Challenges of Sustainable Development of Resorts, hosted in the capital city of Tbilisi.
Georgia's National Agency of State Property on Thursday said it had fulfilled the privatisation plan by 100.2 percent this year.