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Tourism Sector Challenges and Recommendations
2021-11-05 00:00:00
Tourism Sector Challenges and Recommendations

On September 29, the Kazakh-Georgian Economic Union, with the support of PMC Research Center, held a meeting assessing the importance and prospects with respect to Kazakh tourists visiting Georgia. A hybrid event brought together representatives of the public and private sector engaged in tourism, while other people interested in the sector’s development also attended in an online format. 

At the event, the Kazakh-Georgian Economic Union and Georgia's leading brokerage, advisory, and investment company TBC Capital presented results of research which contained statistical data on tourism flows between Kazakhstan and Georgia for the 2006-2020 period and corresponding numerical indicators.

Based on the data, discussions were held about the importance, challenges, and potential of the Kazakh-Georgian market, identifying challenges hindering the attraction of more Kazakh tourists to Georgia, as well as measures to be taken to strengthen and develop tourism flows between the countries. According to the study, the number of tourists traveling from Kazakhstan to Georgia increased by an average of 25.9% per year from 2011 to 2019. 

Further studies should focus on the preferences of Kazakh tourists to increase the chances of them visiting Georgia more regularly. 

Current Challenges 

It is essential to popularize market niches in Georgia that are attractive to Kazakh tourists such as agritourism, adventure tourism, as well as recreational and balneological tourism. 

Until now, the growth rate of Kazakh tourist flows to Georgia has been sporadic, likely to be attributable to the fragmented and impermanent nature of the marketing of Georgia as a tourist destination in Kazakhstan leading to a lack of knowledge among Kazakh tourists. Moreover, other obvious challenges are the coordination of industry actors and the optimization of resources. Addressing these issues could increase the number of tourists significantly and quickly. Ultimately, it is hoped to attract at least 500 000 Kazakh tourists to Georgia each year, consisting of only 5% of the number of tourists leaving the country.

Recommendations

At the initial stage, an action plan should be developed based on detailed analysis (research) of the potential of Kazakh tourists visiting Georgia, aimed at identifying existing system gaps and conducting targeted communication. Moreover, it is essential to develop new tourist attractions and destinations (including MICE tourism) and launch a marketing campaign targeting Kazakh tourists. This would entail synergizing the resources and efforts of the public and private sectors, and strengthening the interaction between Kazakh and Georgian tour operators.

The Kazakh-Georgian Economic Union continues to coordinate with representatives of both the public and private sectors, and, as is planned, organize results-oriented events to promote full realization of Kazakh tourist potential in Georgia.

Georgian Publication