Elene Otarashvili, General Manager of the Golden Tulip Design Tbilisi hotel, believes that Georgia must position itself as a niche tourism destination to ensure sustainable development and preserve its identity. Speaking on BMGTV, Otarashvili expressed concern about the direction of the country's tourism industry.
“Georgia should be a niche destination. We can’t afford to become a country of shallow, aimless tourism, it would simply destroy us,” she said.
According to Otarashvili, Georgia should focus on wine tourism, medical and wellness tourism, adventure tourism, and business tourism. She stressed the importance of leveraging Georgia’s status as the cradle of wine, something she says has still not been fully utilized.
She also highlighted a shift in the geography of incoming tourists, which has impacted interest in key tourism products like wine and gastronomy.
“With the decline in European tourist numbers, wine tourism has lost traction, and even gastronomic tourism has been pushed into the background,” Otarashvili noted.
Today’s visitors, she said, are largely focused on luxury accommodations and shopping, rather than exploring Georgia’s unique cultural and natural offerings.
“We’ve become less interesting to many of them. They don’t want our wine or cuisine. They want five-star comfort, malls, and occasionally a glance at nature, but not the distinctive experiences that once set us apart,” she said.
Otarashvili emphasized that targeting European markets once pushed the industry to innovate and create meaningful experiences. She fears that without such motivation, Georgia risks losing its edge as a unique travel destination.
“That desire to meet the expectations of European travelers drove us to improve and evolve. It gave us momentum. We must find that drive again if we want sustainable tourism development,” she concluded.
