Maia Omiadze, the head of the National Tourism Administration, is speaking of positive expectations for 2025. She told the media after a meeting with the sector that "it will be a very good tourism year."
This is despite the fact that the sector itself points to a number of challenges, including reduced bookings amid the current political situation. BMG was interested in Maia Omiadze's response to the sector's concerns.
According to the head of the Tourism Administration, the supply of hotel rooms has increased and, accordingly, the reduced occupancy of specific hotels is explained by the fact that tourists have moved to other hotels and in this regard, the country has no disadvantage.
"The private sector has its own visions, its own challenges. I'm saying this conditionally, one of the issues was raised regarding the fact that 5 years ago a specific hotel had a 70% occupancy rate and this year it has a 50% occupancy rate. If we analyze all this, how has the number of hotel rooms increased in the last 5 years? There has been no shortage of tourists in Georgia, the number of hotel rooms, business supply has increased in this regard, and accordingly, when a person has lost a guest, the country has not lost a guest, they have moved to another hotel. I know hotels that have reservations, some do not," said Maia Omiadze.
