Passenger traffic at Georgian airports increases 25%
Georgian airports have served 3,375,959 passengers during the last eight months, which is a 25 per cent increase in comparison to last year, an official statement of United Airports of Georgia says.
Tbilisi International Airport served 461,051 passengers in August: a 12 per cent increase y/y.
Growth in the first eight months of this year was 24 per cent higher than the same period last year.
Passenger traffic in Kutaisi International Airport increased by 44 per cent in August 2018 y/y.
Over the last eight months Kutaisi International Airport has served 382,325 passengers, which is a 35 per cent increase.
Batumi International Airport served 121, 298 in August 2018 which is 12 percent more than the same period for last year. As for the first eight months of this year, passenger traffic in Batumi International Airport increased by 24 per cent.
Georgia’s rural airports in Mestia and Ambrolauri together served 5 ,520 passengers in the first eight months of 2018.
Georgia 4th among world’s fastest-growing tourism destinations
Georgia has taken the fourth position as the world’s most fast-growing tourism destinations in the World Tourism Organisation’s (UNWTO) 2017 report.
The report reads that in 2017 the number of tourists particularly increased for trips to Egypt, Togo, Vietnam and Georgia.
For Egypt, the number of tourists increased by 55 per cent.
In Togo, by 46 per cent.
In Vietnam by 29 per cent.
In Georgia by 27.9 per cent.
Georgia stands above France, Spain, Turkey and other countries where the tourism field is especially well-developed in terms of pace of growth.
This is the first time that Georgia has taken a leading position as a quickly growing tourist country in the UNWTO report. In 2016 Georgia was the first in Europe as a tourism destination, now we are in the top five as the world’s fast growing tourism destinations, which is a great achievement,” head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration Giorgi Chogovadze said.
The report reads that international tourist arrivals grew by seven per cent in 2017, the highest increase since 2010.
The UNWTO is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
Euronews: Traditional Georgian Ballet is the Classics plus Folklore
Euronews correspondent Wolfgang Spindler went to Tbilisi to find out more about traditional Georgian ballet.
The Sukhishvili Georgian National Ballet combines traditional Georgian dances, ballet, and elements of modern dance. With fast turns and acrobatic jumps, the dancers can easily captivate an entire audience, young and old. The ensemble has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious performance spaces.
The company began 70 years ago when Iliko Sukhishvili and Nino Ramishvili, a husband and wife team, created their own dance ensemble. Since then, they have survived the Stalinist terrors, the Cold War, and the collapse of the USSR to build international recognition. Today, it’s the grandchildren who are in charge. Iliko Sukhishvili the younger is the Artistic Director, and his sister Nino is the General Director and Costume Director.
The group’s repertoire includes dances from the various regions in Georgia, featuring traditional costumes from these same regions. Some dances from mountainous regions are reminiscent of fights, or agility and courage competitions.
You can see a performance of the Sukhishvili Georgian National Ballet at Rike Park in Tbilisi every Saturday through August 25.
Source: Euronews.com
New air connection between Tbilisi and Racha region
Regular air flights between Tbilisi and the high-mountain region Racha launched in January of this year, reports “Sputnik Georgia” with reference to Georgia Airports Union. Flights will operate by Serviceair company on aircrafts placing 17 passengers.
Airplanes will depart from Natakhtari aerodrome located near Tbilisi on Sundays and Wednesdays at 14.30 and arrive at the airport of Ambrolauri at 15.00. Regular half an hour flights will allow reaching Racha from Tbilisi anytime of the year.
It is to remind that Ambrolauri runway was launched on 6 October, 2016. The length of the aerodrome is 1,1 km and 30m in width.
Batumi to Host International Rural Tourism Conference
The second International Conference of Rural Tourism will be held in Batumi on October 19-20. The main topic of the conference will be “Rural Tourism as Business”.
The conference will present presentations, reports and seminars by invited Georgian and foreign experts, and introductory practical visits will be arranged on tourist routes throughout the Adjara region.
The topics of the Conference include:
Village and village life as a tourist product, business and source of income;
Innovative services and tourist products to maintain rural / village authenticity in parallel with innovative services;
Rural tourism development prospects and challenges in the Adjara region/tourist infrastructure in rural areas;
General standards of rural tourism (service standards, types of family guest houses, etc.);
Georgian hospitality and hospitality as a business;
State programs in rural tourism development in Georgia and other countries;
Competition in rural tourism, positive and negative impacts and sides of the competition;
Attracting tourists in rural areas and advertising.
The conference will be attended by the owners of family guest houses, tourist agencies, the representatives of the different fields of rural and eco-tourism, as well as the representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations.
“In the Adjara region, rural tourism is at the initial stage of development, so it is important for us to get acquainted with the international experience and successful business examples of rural tourism.
“Although the locals of Adjara region have started to actively engage in tourism sphere and the number of the providers of family guest houses and other tourist services is significantly increasing, there is still a lot of work in the direction of tourism business development,” said Tinatin Zoidze, Director of Tourism Products Development Agency of Ajara Tourism Department. “Accordingly, we need to get acquainted with other people’s experiences and use it in practice. This is the main goal of our conference and I think that we will have interesting speakers this year, too.”
Why is Saperavi a unique variety of vine and is it only found in Georgia?
Georgia is one of the main hubs for forming various classical vines. An important book called, “Georgian Amphelography”, was published in 1960, where Georgian grape varieties were discussed. The complete amphelographic included a description of 57 standard and perspective varieties. The book contains in total 525 varieties of vines.
After final verification, 414 varieties of Georgian vine description were included in the amphelographic book.
Among them is Saperavi, a unique grape variety that originates in Georgia. Biological features and morphological signs of this breed identify Saperavi as the oldest breed. None of the Georgian varieties have the same number of additional names as Saperavi. This can be explained by the fact that Saperavi is an old breed. The most famous and varied types of Saperavi are Budeshuri, Otskhanuri Sapere, Meskhi Saperavi, Ateni Saperavi, Saperavi Pachkha, and many more.
The growing of the Saperavi vines spread from Georgia to almost all neighbouring countries: Azerbaidjan – from Saingilo, mostly in the regions such as Kakhi, Zakatala, Shamkori, Ghanja; Armenia – in the districts of Alaverdi, Shamshadin and Ijevani. However, the Saperavi vine is less common in Armenia. Since 1927, Saperavi cultivation has been extensive in the former Soviet farm at Ararat. Saperavi was introduced in Dagestan from the region of Kakheti, mostly in the districts of Darubandi and Makhachkala.
In the Middle Asian countries Saperavi was brought together with European varieties by 1860, and in France it is fetched by French habitant of Kutaiasi Longale, who was sending Georgian breeds to ampheliographist Pule.
The reason why Saperavi is widely grown and cultivated in different countries is down to its high agricultural and technological properties (productivity, quality, frost-resistant). According to the chemical analysis, Saperavi belongs to a saint wine vines’ group. It is among the world’s best red wines. The high quality of Saperavi Wine is often acknowledged by official tasting commissions. Director of Nikitin Garden, Hartvis, G. Tsabel and others give it a high rating. The prominent French amphelographist Odari wrote: “Everything gives me the right to think that Saperavi is the best of all grapes to make red wine.”
The best Saperavi wine is made from grapes, harvested in the middle of the Kakheti region, especially in Kvareli and Mukuzani. These are truly the pride of Georgian wine. The most popular wines made from Saperavi grapes are “Saperavi”, “Kindzmarauli”, “Kvareli”, and “Mukuzani. The best dessert wines from Saperavi grapes are seen in the Crimea and Uzbekistan. In some places the wine is a dark ruby-colour, a pomegranate colour, or can even be a blackcurrant colour. But in every case it is accompanied with a strong flavor and a harmonious sensation of its components. According to the Ukrainian winemaker, Okhremenko, the “softness of the wine is integral with the the character of wine its originality and integrity.”
Source: www.allwine.ge
Georgian guda cheese wins first place at cheese festival in Italy
Traditional cheese made in Georgia’s historical region of Tusheti has become the winner of the International Cheese Festival in Italy.
A Tushuri ‘guda’ cheese, made by young Georgian farmer Kakha Abuladze, 22, came in first place at the Festival.
Tushuri guda is a cheese produced from sheep’s milk that ripens in a “guda” (the Georgian word for a bag made from the skin of a sheep, goat, or calf)..
Since 2011, Slow Food has awarded shepherds and craftsmen who reject shortcuts and continue to produce cheese and other food products while preserving naturalness, traditions, and flavors.
Shepherds and chefs who produce cheese and other organic products according to traditions were awarded as well.
The other winners of the four-day festival were farmers from the United States, Italy, and the Cape Verde Republic.
The international cheese festival in Italy is held once every two years and gathers hundreds of farmers from all over the world.
Opening ceremony of Georgian Fine Arts Museum
Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze attended the opening ceremony of Georgian Fine Arts Museum and addressed the gathered community.
According to Kakha Kaladze, the City Hall will always support similar projects.
“As the mayor of the capital, I would like to once more reiterate, that the capital of any European country would dream of such space and the environment. Younger generations will also be able to develop and I am really happy in this regard. I would like to thank to Gia Jokhtaberidze and his family for everything, “said Kakha Kaladze.
The private collection of the museum founders, Gia Jokhtaberidze and Manana Shevardnadze’s family paintings were exhibited in the museum, which has been composed of 3500 paintings of 80 artists since 1945.
Exhibition space is relevant to modern standards. Gradually, new paintings will be added to the museum and besides permanent exposition, temporary exhibitions will be arranged as well.
The event was attended by members of the Government of Georgia, representatives of diplomatic corps, artists and representatives of world leading museums.