Tourism will develop better

2022 has ended, it is time to review the past period of life and activities.

The development of tourism and business in general, including the agricultural sector, in Dedoplistskaro will be greatly helped by UNESCO’s decision on the status of Dedoplistskaro biosphere reserve, as well as the creation of a new multi-use area named after Nugzar Zazanashvili in the district. The useful work is being done by rehabilitating the Khornabuji road, tidying up King Tamar’s Square in the center of the city, etc. Of course, the regional development program will significantly improve the appearance of our city and color the dull gray environment. The rehabilitated exhibition hall of the Niko Pirosmani State Museum with Nikala’s originals and the well-furnished yard will become the visiting card of the Dedoplistskaro municipality for Georgian and foreign visitors.

The past year was fruitful in the direction of the development and strengthening of our association. The number of visitors, after the difficult years of the pandemic, increased, as well as we used this time to create new tourism products, to improve the quality of the existing ones. In 2021-2022, with the help of our Estonian friends – the Estonian Rural Tourism Organization, quality criteria for tourism products were developed and introduced.

Now our members have the possibility to self-assess their business, draw up an improvement plan, and if a certain percentage of the criteria are met, apply to the Association Council for the “Good Host” quality label and certificate. The presence of many quality label facilities in the district will help attract visitors, develop tourism and related businesses, and also, the implementation of new business ideas.

Modern tourism, including agro-tourism and creative tourism, is such a business that a sock-knitting housewife, a village beekeeper, or a small family chicken farm, a good fruit or flower garden can become the successful tourist object with the correct “packaging” and marketing. Many people have the chance to do this in Dedoplistskaro today: small farmers, family wineries, bakeries, even good cooks of one dish, people who produce handicrafts, good photographers, young people who know foreign languages, and others.

Modern tourism is a diverse and broad sector, a value chain that includes production, hospitality, catering, accommodation, and transport services, as well as, integrating cultural, social, and economic dimensions. The association promises to help start-ups with advice using the knowledge and experience of its members.

In 2023, training for association members on various practical topics and mutual exchange of experience of businesses with quality certificates in similar facilities in Estonia are planned. This project fully supports women and young people in starting and developing businesses.

Opportunities for cooperation with similar profile organizations of Georgia and other countries appeared during the association’s participation in the international conference organized within the framework of the German International Development Program (GIZ) in Berlin. There were established future business contacts with Ukrainian, Moldovan, Armenian, and German organizations.

We look with hope at the future of tourism in the district. We think that the improvement works of various objects of the region will continue next year. We will have a modern exhibition hall of the Local Lore Museum with unique exhibits, well-maintained public toilets in the city center, and at tourist attractions, a clean and tidy courtyard of the Elias Monastery, and other new facilities to attract visitors.

In conclusion, we would like to wish all Dedoplistskaro residents a Merry Christmas and a New Year, a year full of optimism and the realization of new business ideas!