“If I had viewed it purely as a business, I wouldn’t have invested a single penny,” says Tamaz Mchedlidze, founder of the wellness resort Bioli, in an interview with BM.GE, describing the project’s financial reality.
Bioli, which has been operating on the market for 20 years and is focused on medical and wellness services, is designed for high-spending customers, according to Mkhedlidze. As a result, the resort’s main guests are foreigners, including visitors from Arab countries, while local customers mostly visit for leisure purposes.
“If I had approached this as a business project, I would never have invested money in it. I have already invested 51 million USD in this space, and under this model, I will never fully recover that amount. Such a project is not profitable from a business perspective. I simply turned out to be someone for whom health is the greatest value. I am fulfilling my grandmother’s will and set myself the goal of creating a Georgian wellness industry,” Mchedlidze explains.
He notes that the development of the project is largely financed through dividends received from his own clinic in Russia. A significant portion of these funds is reinvested into Bioli to enable the resort to compete with world-class wellness destinations. According to Mchedlidze, although Bioli has been growing gradually for two decades, it will take at least another ten years to generate profits.
Starting next year, the resort will enter a new phase of development.
“At the moment, we only have 17 cottages, which is not sufficient for proper operation. Therefore, from next year we will begin construction of a beautiful swimming pool with aqua aerobics services and treatment facilities, along with the addition of other services. Approximately 4 million USD will be spent on this project. I want to create a resort that will make Switzerland seem insignificant by comparison,” Mchedlidze says.
According to the founder, the resort is set to enter an even more ambitious phase of expansion starting in 2027. Plans include the construction of a 25-room luxury hotel, requiring an additional USD 8 million in investment. In parallel, the development of a medical clinic is also planned, with an estimated investment of USD 5 million.
He emphasizes that once these stages are completed, Bioli will fully align with the standards that define the world’s leading wellness resorts.
