We are lowering tour prices to avoid losing the few customers we still have – WST
“We are actually lowering prices for tours… because if we raise them, we will lose the few customers we already have,” said Germane Chelidze, founder of the company “WST,” in an interview with BM.GE.
According to him, despite rising operational costs, increasing prices is not an option due to weak demand in the domestic tourism segment.
“Everything has become more expensive, fuel alone is up by 30–40%. But if we raise prices, we will simply lose our already limited customers,” he explained.
Chelidze noted that tour prices vary depending on destination. For example, a Mtskheta tour covering Jvari Monastery, Svetitskhoveli, the Mother Monastery, and a wine tasting costs around 50 GEL, while a Kakheti tour, which includes additional activities such as masterclasses and excursions, is priced at about 75 GEL.
He also described 2026 as a difficult year so far for the business. While January showed some stability, conditions worsened from February, with March performing particularly poorly.
“Overall, the first quarter was very weak. Tourist flow dropped by about 28–30%, which directly affected our finances. Because of this, a planned investment of around half a million dollars for new buses has been postponed indefinitely,” Chelidze said.
