Georgia should continue seeking new tourism markets such as India, China and Israel, but should not change its long-term positioning based on short-term trends, tourism expert Vano Vashakmadze told “Business Course.” He said the growing share of Asian and budget travelers should not alter Georgia’s tourism branding.
“Searching for new markets in India, China and Israel is necessary, but you cannot change your positioning according to the market situation. What Georgia is known for should be protected and developed consistently over decades, rather than changed in response to visitor demand,” Vashakmadze said.
He said constantly changing the tourism strategy could lead to lower quality and prices, even if visitor numbers increase. “You may regain quantitative indicators in terms of visitor numbers, but this may not have the economic, political or socio-cultural impact for which we originally aimed to present Georgia to the world,” he said.
Vashakmadze said Georgia should balance adaptation with consistency and focus on its distinctive characteristics. “We are not a large country and cannot compete on quantitative indicators. We should stand on what makes us distinctive and interesting and strengthen it through different tools,” he said.
