The entry of the Luxury Collection, a top-tier brand of Marriott's international chain, into our country marks a new paragraph in Georgia's hospitality industry, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated at the opening ceremony of Paragraph Tbilisi Hotel.
As the Head of Government pointed out, this is another exceptional project for Georgia.
"Greetings, dear friends! I greet our Parliament Speaker, Tbilisi Mayor, Party Chairman, and MPs, our dear guests, esteemed audience. I am excited to be participating in the opening ceremony of this excellent, unique hotel. I congratulate all of you on the completion of this unique project. This is another exceptional project for our capital, our country.
"I would like to say a few words about the importance of this project. Before that, let me remind you that, in 2018, the Autograph Collection, a brand of Marriott's international chain, entered our country and, as you all know well, opened the famous Paragraph Shekvetili Hotel, a truly exceptional hotel in the entire region. Today, the entry of the Luxury Collection, a top-tier brand of Marriott's international chain, into our country marks a new paragraph in Georgia's hospitality industry. Given the positive dynamic in the tourism and hospitality sector, the operation of this excellent, unique new hotel in the capital's center is very important, of course. Thus, I once again congratulate all of you. I also want to emphasize that the hotel's international-standard infrastructure, modern multifunctional complex, 220 rooms, and five restaurants of different categories, along with various spaces, all this allows the hotel to host top-level international events, business conferences, visitors, vacationers, our tourists," Irakli Garibashvili stated.
According to the Prime Minister, the total investment value of Paragraph Tbilisi is 150 million USD.
"Besides its investment value-which is in itself a direct contribution to Georgia's economy-it is also important that this stands for stimulating the development of new services and, most importantly, hundreds of jobs for the capital. It is with special gratitude that I would like to underline the role of the project's main author, Mister Bidzina Ivanishvili, and once again thank him for the implementation of such an important, remarkable project. I would like to thank the Co-Investment Fund, its every employee, everyone involved in the implementation of this outstanding project. I am convinced that this new hotel will soon become a place favored by Tbilisi's guests. I also would like to say that, for many years, the Co-Investment Fund has been actively participating in the development of our country's economy. Of course, I would like to reiterate the enormous volume of charity carried out by Mister Bidzina Ivanishvili-charity amounting to over 3 billion USD, and now hundreds of millions of USD contributed to the development of our country. Also, I would like to point out briefly that, in the past 10 years, some 85,000 new hotel beds have been created across the country, with the total investment amounting to over 2 billion GEL. Tourism is developing rapidly in our country. Last year, the country received 3.5 billion USD in revenues from international travel. In the first three quarters of this year, Georgia has already received 3.3 billion USD in revenues. All this allows us to be very optimistic about the country's development, the economy's development. Thus, I once again congratulate you on the completion of this new project. Thank you very much!" the Head of Government said.
The event's invited guests were also addressed with speeches by the Hotel Management Company's CEO George Togonidze, President of Marriott International Chain Satya Anand, the Georgian Tourism Development Fund's CEO Giorgi Baidarashvili, and Paragraph Tbilisi's General Manager Thomas van Opstal.
Paragraph Tbilisi is a hotel under the first Luxury Collection brand of the Marriott international chain. The total investment of Paragraph Tbilisi amounts to 150 million USD. The hotel includes 220 rooms, five restaurants, with top-category spas on three floors, and hi-tech meeting and conference spaces. The number of people employed by Paragraph Tbilisi and Paragraph Shekvetili exceeds 900.
Paragraph Tbilisi will be able to host international events of the highest category and attract new types of business visitors and vacationers to Georgia.
The Autograph Collection brand of the Marriott International Chain entered Georgia on the initiative of the Tourism Development Fund in 2018 by opening the famous Paragraph Shekvetili Hotel.