USAID/Zrda invited public and private sector tourism stakeholders from its targeted regions, including: Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Imereti and Kakheti Destination Management Organizations (DMO), Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA), Georgia’s Farmers Association (GFA), Kvemo Kartli local government representative and Sisian Tourism Center from Armenia took part in a study tour in Czech Republic and Slovakia to get first-hand information on DMOs and successful destination management approaches in Europe, community-led tourism and tourism work to effect the country’s rural economy, impacts and challenges.

To replicate the best international practices, during the study tour scheduled on October 13-18, the Georgian delegation visited numerous super touristic sites such as: the family breweries, farms, wineries, met with the local officials involved in the tourism industry, as well as received useful information regarding the new approaches in the tourism development industry itself and set priorities to better position and market the Georgian regions in future.

In the framework of the USAID/Zrda and Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA), for the first time, Georgia participated in the Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS) taking place in Sweden during September 16-19! More than 750 adventure tourism companies all over the world, including Georgian tour operators took part in the summit and had opportunity to promote Georgia as desirable destination, as well as establish partnership with local outbound travel agencies.

Every year, representatives from the adventure travel industry come together at the Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS) to talk shop, get inspired and enjoy a decidedly adventurous destination anywhere in the world. Produced by the Adventure Travel Trade Association, the Summit is for tour operators, adventure travel writers and influencers, tourism boards and industry partners. The location varies from country to country every year.

USAID/Zrda-supported 4 Georgian tour operators, including Explore Georgia, Georgian Holidays, TravelShop, Ecotour and Adventure Tourism Development Association also attended the summit and had chance to interact with international travel journalists, editors, influencers and bloggers from up to 15 different countries, whose work reach consumers and the trade audiences through a large variety of digital and print outlets.

USAID/Zrda to support The 2nd International Festival of Traditional Crafts Workshops!

Peter Wiebler, USAID Mission Director, together with Samtskhe-Javakheti Deputy Governor, Zurab Khachidze visited USAID/Zrda-supported 2nd International Festival of Traditional Crafts Workshops at Akhaltsikhe Rabati Castle.

The festival, that aims to bring together the craft makers from all over Georgia and abroad to show the diversity of crafts fields and to promote master craftsman and their skills, was held in Akhaltsikhe Fortress (Rabati) on July 28-30, 2019.

More than 150 artisans from 10 countries all over the world were participating in the festival.

USAID/Zrda and RDFG launched joint Regional Youth Entrepreneurship Program!

USAID/Zrda and Association Rural Development for Future Georgia (RDFG) joint Regional Youth Entrepreneurship Program aims to strengthen Rural Youth through Entrepreneurship. Within the project, entrepreneurship skills development trainings will be conducted into two stages. All in all, 5 hundred young people (age of 18-29) living in the 9 target municipalities (Zugdidi, Borjomi, Aspindza, Adigeni, Ninotsminda, Marneuli, Bolnisi, Kaspi and Gori) will be engaged in the project. The training sessions will be implemented on the basis of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s (UNIDO) entrepreneurial-training manual and will be held in 9 municipalities at the same time. Within each phase, maximum 25 people will be invited to participate in the training sessions in each municipality. After this, the project participants will be required to present their business ideas related to Agriculture, Tourism, Innovations/Technologies and Creative Industry.

USAID/Zrda in partnership with the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia hosted International Day of Museums/European Night of Museums in Samtskhe-Javakheti Region, in Vardzia.

From now on, the Vardzia Cave Town will host its visitors at the virtual museum equipped with modern projection and holographic technology that will allow visitors with disabilities (and those without!) to experience the cave complex using the technology platform supported through USAID/Zrda.

Moreover, number of first-time launches and a range of shows celebrated International Museum Day and annual Night at the Museum event in Vardzia, an iconic medieval cave city monument in Georgia’s south.

USAID/Georgia representative David Tsiklauri and USAID Zrda Chief of Party Brian King joined the Deputy Head of Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA) Rusudan Mamatsashvili, and Governor of Samtskhe-Javakheti Besik Amiranashvili officially launched the Destination Management Organization (DMO) new office in Rabati Castle. DMO is designed to position and market Samtskhe-Javakheti as one of Georgia’s premier tourism destinations.

Through establishing the Samtskhe-Javakheti DMO, Zrda and GNTA are jointly introducing a best practice Destination Management approach, for the first time in Georgia, which will ensure that tourism adds value to the local and national economy, generates new employment opportunities, and contributes to the sustainable development of Samtskhe-Javakheti communities. As such, the Samtskhe-Javakheti DMO will serve as an advocate for inclusive and holistic tourism industry development across the region, and facilitate multifaceted dialogue in which tourism, industry, government and community leaders plan future tourism development together to effectively manage this destination, attract fresh investments, foster job creation, and boost innovation.

Anaklia Education Hub Officially Launched

USAID Zrda and Anaklia Development Consortium building resilience of local communities!

Anaklia Development Consortium’s (ADC) CEO Levan Akhvlediani and USAID Mission Director Peter Wiebler joined Governor of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Aleksandre Motserelia to open the Anaklia Education Hub and announced the launch of the MSME Grants Program within the Anaklia Community and Economic Development (ACED) program.

Anaklia Community and Economic Development (ACED) is a joint initiative of Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) and USAID Zrda Activity designed to promote the regional economic development of Anaklia and its surrounding areas, support increase of the competitiveness and growth of MSMEs in the region, build and sustain a workforce qualified to meet the market demand for both port operations and the wider economy in the region, and facilitate the development of community infrastructure necessary to the region.

Georgian Farmers’ Association and USAID/Zrda joint product - New “GeoGAP” Certification System officially launched!

USAID Mission Director, Peter Wiebler, and Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Levan Davitashvili, joined the Head of the Georgian Farmers’ Association, Nino Zambakhidze, in hosting a wide audience of interested stakeholders who gathered to support the recognition and institutional development of the ‘’Georgia Good Agricultural Practices’’ (GeoGAP) Certification System introduced by the Georgian Farmers’ Association (GFA), with technical support from USAID/Zrda.

Georgian National Tourism Administration and USAID/Zrda will Launch the Destination Management Organization in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region! USAID Zrda Chief of Party Brian King and Head of Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA) Giorgi Chogovadze joined the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Deputy Governor Nino Vibliani and the Mayors of the regional municipalities to announce intention to launch the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Destination Management Organization (DMO) designed to position and market the region as one of Georgia’s premier tourism destinations.

BP Georgia and USAID Zrda Activity to Support Communities across Georgia! On November 16, 2018, Deputy Chief of Mission Elizabeth Rood and BP Country Manager for Georgia Chris Schlueter joined Samtskhe-Javakheti Governor Besik Amiranashvili to familiarize with the opportunities of economic and social growth in Zemo Skhvilisi village of the Akhlatsikhe Municipality.

Recently, USAID Zrda in partnership with BP Georgia has launched joint program in 41 villages where BP and Zrda activities overlap, including village Zemo Skhvilisi. Joint program will be implemented as part of the wider Community Development Initiative program, initiated and funded by BP and its oil and gas partners.  Focus areas of the partnership are agriculture, business and community development.

On October 2, 2018, USAID Zrda Chief of Party Brian King and Governor of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Alexandre Motserelia joined USAID/Georgia representative David Tsiklauri and Acting Deputy Head of Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA) Tornike Zirakishvili to launch the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Regional Tourism Development Symposium. The symposium aims to identify challenges facing the regional tourism industry and set priorities to better position and market this region as one of Georgia’s premier tourism destinations. 

The Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Tourism Development Symposium is the first initiative of the regional tourism stakeholders working group to be registered as a Destination Management Organization (DMO) this year. Earlier last year, USAID Zrda partnered with GNTA, and regional public and private sector stakehold­ers to establish the regional tourism working group aimed at promoting a well-tested regional tourism development model in Samegrelo and Samtskhe-Javakheti regions. The model focuses on agro-, eco-, adventure-, and cultural tourism, and seeks to improve stakeholder coordination and cooperation in the region.

 Zrda’s holistic approach to tourism seeks to support regional tourism development through new tourism product development, promoting new tourism destinations and attractions, and raising international quality standards within players in the tourism sector. As a result of Zrda interventions to-date, 415 guesthouses and restaurants across its target ABL and minority regions, including 207 from Samegrelo, have benefited from both digital marketing training and American Hotel and Lodging Association Education Institute (AHLAEI) certificate training courses on hotel administration, and are now registered on well-known booking engines like Booking.com, TripAdvisor and Airbnb.  Thanks to the Zrda-supported Information and Media Tours to Samegrelo, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli and Tusheti, the leading Georgian tour operators have recently included the newly discovered sites into their touristic packages and generated up to $700,000 in sales in just several months following the activity. The initiative also assisted local actors to generate more income, and upgrade their services to meet international standards, all aiming to support increased employment in the hospitality sector of the regions.

In line with its adventure tourism development initiatives, Zrda facilitated preparation of 60 wilderness guides and instructors in canyoning, rafting, hiking, trekking and diving, all catering to the variety of experience levels. As a complementary activity, Zrda in partnership with GNTA supported the positioning of 38 e-maps of hiking trails in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region on www.wikiloc.com- search engine popular worldwide among adventure lovers.

On September 10, 2018, Anaklia Development Consortium’s (ADC) CEO Levan Akhvlediani and USAID Zrda’s Chief of Party, Brian King signed a Partnership Agreement within the Anaklia Community and Economic Development Program. According to the agreement, ADC and USAID Zrda invest $2 million to promote the regional economic development of Anaklia/ Zugdidi and its surrounding areas. USAID Mission Director Peter Wiebler, ADC Founding Partner Mamuka Khazaradze, Governor of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Aleksandre Motserelia, and other public and private sector representatives attended the signing ceremony. 

The new project will focus on 3 major directions: Increasing the competitiveness and growth of MSMEs in the region; Building a workforce qualified to meet the market demand for both port operations and the wider economy in the region; Facilitating the development of community infrastructure necessary to meet Anaklia and the region’s needs. USAID Zrda and Anaklia Development Consortium are investing $1 million each in the joint project.

According to USAID Mission Director Peter Wiebler, “This partnership symbolizes the U.S. government’s commitment to building self-reliant communities across Georgia. It also represents our intent to engage with the private sector to achieve our shared goals. We are excited to work with Georgian and U.S. private partners as visionary and ambitious as the members of the Anaklia Development Consortium. While international donors and government help set the foundation for economic growth, the collaboration and commitment of private sector actors make such growth durable and sustainable.” 

According to ADC Founding Partner Mamuka Khazaradze, “Wellbeing and prosperity of the people of Anaklia and surrounding areas has been among our most important goals since the very beginning of the Anaklia Port project.  We are happy that this purpose will now be realised with this new, very significant project that we commence in partnership with USAID Zrda. I want to express my gratitude towards USAID and the U.S. Government for being the part of this important initiative, and overall, for their expressed support in development of Anaklia and the Anaklia Deep Sea Port.”

Anaklia Community and Economic Development Program will provide support to communities in West Georgia to maximize their ability to capitalize on the coming economic development opportunities presented by the $2.5 billion Anaklia Deep Sea Port mega project, which is a joint venture of a Georgian-U.S. consortium. The new deep-water port is envisioned to transform Georgia into a regional economic hub and a key link and transport corridor between Aisa and Europe. Construction of Georgia’s first deep sea port started in December 2017, and the first phase of the project - construction of the primary container terminal - will be completed by the end of 2020, which also coincides with the timeline of the joint development program between USAID Zrda and ADC.