"Tourism was creating the largest number of jobs in its neighboring sectors, and consequently the closure of borders and the stagnation of the economy has led to the loss of 220,000 jobs. These are official figures, but the number is much higher than the official statistics," tourism expert Tamta Shamatava told Business Morning.
According to her, a petition was also created to open the borders, which was signed by several thousand people and aimed at activating the sector, though the state did not pay attention to them.
"The tourism sector, which is an exceptionally important part of the Georgian economy, is losing qualified staff. Closed borders have led to the closure of shops, restaurants, hotels. These people were not just employed in hotels and restaurants. Problems were created to laundries, which served hotels, as well as guides, tour operators, drivers and the list is quite long. At the same time, the forecasts are deplorable in the light of the variable data of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund," Shamatava said.
According to the tourism expert, communication is also a problem today between the public and private sectors.
"The Minister of Economy of the country tells the representatives of the hotels in the mountain resorts that they are not affected by Lockdown. These people took loans to arrange hotels to be ready and to adapt to the Covid-reality, but later the opposite of the minister's statement came into the country and now these people have a new puzzle in the form of additional loans," Tamta Shamatava said.
