Agency of Protected Areas of Georgia received GEL 4.8 million in revenue from visitors in 2021.
According to the Agency, revenues from ecotourism services amounted to GEL 4,875,880 in 9M2021, which is 5.8 times more compared to the same period of 2020 (GEL 845,430).
The protected areas started operating in Georgia from May 26. Until that time, the operation of protected areas in the country was suspended due to the risks of COVID-19 spread. Accordingly, in May-September, 10 parks and canyons received 0.5 million visitors, which was almost half of the visitors received in the 9 months of 2019 (1,032,293 visitors in 9 months of 2019).
The Agency of Protected Areas of Georgia hopes to develop other projects along with the improvement of the epidemiological situation.
As of the agency, next year will be active in terms of tourism and the Protected Areas of Georgia will host visitors with renewed spaces and a variety of services. The agency believes that the implementation of new projects will significantly increase the interest and attraction of visitors, therefore, the number of visitors is expected to increase to 8 million over the next 10 years.
The agency also considers the implementation of various projects. According to them, the budget of various infrastructure projects planned for the coming years is about GEL 212 million, of which GEL 49 million will be funded from the state budget.
"Currently, the volume of private investments in the Protected Areas of Georgia is GEL 142 million. The Agency for Protected Areas is actively working to increase the interest of private investors in protected areas. According to the plans at this stage, investments will increase at least 3 times and will reach GEL 429 million”, - the agency notes.
