Tbilisi and Ashgabat restart oncoming tourism: direct flights and "visa-free" are on the agenda
The Resort Development Agency of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia held a presentation of the country's tourism potential in Ashgabat. The meeting was held at the Yyldyz Hotel on March 1 with the participation of industry leaders and experts, travel agencies and airlines of Turkmenistan.
The event was opened by the Georgian Ambassador to Turkmenistan Konstantin Sabiatishvili, who noted the dynamic development in relations between the two countries.
Stressing that Georgia and Turkmenistan are taking important steps for further fruitful cooperation, the Ambassador noted the favorable geographical location of both countries and the common interests that create favorable conditions for contacts in the field of tourism. It is worth noting that in the pre-pandemic period, in 2019, the number of visitors to Georgia from Turkmenistan amounted to over 13,000 people.
Director of the development of resorts of Georgia Alexander Onoprishvili highlighted the key areas in the field of increasing the flow of tourists from Turkmenistan. As an example, he cited the Freestyle and Snowboarding World Championships, which are taking place these days in Bakuriani. The ski resort, located three hours away from Tbilisi, is the oldest resort in the Caucasus.
─ A lot of hotels are being built in Georgia now. Technical and economic conditions are being created for the development of resorts. We arrived in Turkmenistan to tell about our plans and several investment projects in this area," Alexander Onoprishvili tells ORIENT in an interview.
According to him, a basis has been created in Georgia to attract a large number of tourists from different countries, among which Turkmenistan occupies an important place.
Gulshat Bakiyeva, Deputy Director of the Tourism Department of the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan, noted in her speech that in addition to the active development of domestic tourism, all opportunities have been formed in the country to bring cooperation in foreign tourism to a new level.
Lela Potshverashvili, a representative of the Georgian Resort Development Agency, named a number of tourist "manki" of her country, including those related to its ancient history and culture, told about the town of Kobuleti on the Black Sea coast, the town of Ureki, which is famous for its magnetic sand beaches and the rapidly growing resort with modern infrastructure Anaklia.
Another representative of the Agency, Khatuna Saganelidze, told about the balneological resorts of Georgia specializing in the treatment of mineral waters: Abastumani, Akhtala, Bakhmaro, Borjomi, Lebard, Ujarta and others.
Saganelidze focused on the possible implementation of investment projects, including the Lakbe reservoir, the climate resort of Arkhiloskalo, the artificial lake Nadarbazevi, etc. By the way
─ We are looking forward to establishing direct flights from Ashgabat to Tbilisi. In June, an intergovernmental commission will be held in Tbilisi, where many issues will be discussed, including the introduction of a visa-free regime for citizens of Turkmenistan. Residents of your country should see our beautiful capital, and citizens of Georgia should visit such a picturesque city as Ashgabat, - summed up the Director of the Department of Resorts of Georgia Alexander Onoprishvili.
Artur PETROSYANTS
