High-spending tourists are increasingly avoiding Gudauri due to persistent infrastructure problems, according to Miranda Esakia, founder of the local restaurant Drunk Cherry. Speaking to BM.GE, she said that although visitor numbers were acceptable, the resort lost a significant share of high-income travelers.
Esakia noted that despite inflation, hotels and apartments did not increase prices this year, while food establishments raised prices by about 15% due to sharply higher product costs. Still, she says the main issue wasn’t pricing - it was the deteriorating experience caused by poor infrastructure.
“High-spending tourists refused to come because of the problems we had. Just recall December and New Year: garbage wasn’t being collected, roads were jammed, and parking was a disaster. We lost many high-spending visitors because of this,” she said.
According to Esakia, many tourists left with negative impressions and are unlikely to return. “We’re in touch with British, Italian and other guests. Unfortunately, they had very bad experiences. I expect that about 90% of tourists who visited this year will not come back.” She added that uncleaned roads, ice hazards, and traffic caused by insufficient parking created a chain reaction that “made the environment extremely unpleasant for visitors.”
Esakia also highlighted that winter tourists from Asia spend little and stay only for day trips, avoiding key winter services such as ski passes, instructors, or equipment rentals. The core winter tourism market, visitors from Gulf countries and European expats living there, also shrank this season. The March escalation in Israel further reduced one of Gudauri’s largest visitor segments.
“About 30% of our guests are high-spending Europeans, but the remaining 70% come from neighboring countries - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus - and especially Israel, which accounts for roughly 55%,” she said.
