Tag Archives: tourism

ADB approves loan for Georgian coast

AUG. 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $20m loan to boost coastal defences along the Black Sea. The loan will be used to strengthen 5km of shore south of Batumi. The ADB said it was important to defend the shoreline to protect farmland and housing as well as the region’s beaches which attract thousands of tourists each year.

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(News report from Issue No. 246, published on Sept. 4 2015)

Tourism campaign started in Georgia

MAY 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Under the slogan “Summer in Georgia”, the Georgian tourism board has started a $3.5m advertising campaign to attract more tourists from across the former Soviet Union, media reported.

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(News report from Issue No. 232, published on May 20 2015)

Kyrgyz tourism boost

MAY 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The number of Western tourists travelling to Kyrgyzstan has increased from 57,000 in 2013 to 86,000 last year, media quoted Kyrgyz government officials as saying. Officials said the introduction of a visa-free regime in 2012 had helped increase numbers.

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(News report from Issue No. 232, published on May 20 2015)

Another Marriott hotel to open in Georgia

APRIL 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Marriott International hotel group announced plans to open its third site in Tbilisi, media reported. The 130-room Moxy Tbilisi Hotel is part of the Marriott’s push to open its lifestyle brand across Eastern Europe. Hotel brands are pouring into Tbilisi.

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(News report from Issue No. 229, published on April 29 2015)

 

Kazakhstan extends visa-free travel

APRIL 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Nationals from another 16 countries will be able to travel to Kazakhstan without a visa from July, media reported quoting Gulnar Kurbanbayeva, deputy head of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs. Ms Kurbanbayeva also said visa-free travel for 10 top investment countries would be extended.

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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)

New hotels planned in Georgia

APRIL 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – US hotel company Carlson Rezidor, owner of the Radisson and Park Inn brands, said it plans to open another two hotels in Georgia. One of the hotels will be built in Tbilisi and the other in the mountainous Svaneti region.

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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)

Azerbaijan says to relax visa regimes

APRIL 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan is planning to relax its visa regime for the inaugural European Games in Baku on June 12, the US Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan said. Ten days ahead of the Games, people with tickets will be able to apply for a visa on arrival at Baku airport.
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(News report from Issue No. 226, published on April 8 2015)

Kazakhstan promotes itself through food and music

BERLIN, MARCH 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – To celebrate Nauryz, a traditional festival to mark the start of spring, the Kazakh embassy in Berlin paid for a free concert at the city’s Philharmonic Theatre.

The performance was to be a celebration of Kazakh culture with two youth orchestras and several dancers flown in from Astana.

Culture, as well as politics and trade, have become an important part of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy, promoting its brand and pushing its image. Kazakhstan is bidding to host the Winter Olympic Games in 2022, it is hosting the international EXPO in 2017 and wants to win one of the rotating seats at the UN Security Council.

Free, or heavily subsidised performances in European capitals are one way of pushing its messages.

The Kazakh ambassador to Germany, Bolat Nussupov, opened the concert in Berlin, speaking briefly about Kazakhstan’s concept on interethnic harmony. Kazakhstan heralds this concept regularly and the symbolism was maintained during the concert with dances routines from various Kazakh ethnicities in traditional costumes.

The evening, and the Kazakh PR push, continued outside the hall with free traditional food, from plov to baursaki.

“It’s nice to have such events when we’re so far from home. I felt surrounded by my own people, my own heritage for a night,” said Aya, who moved to Berlin 16 years ago from Kazakhstan.

And as well as delighting Kazakh emigres in Germany, the performance seemed to have made an impact on Kazakhstan’s target audience — ordinary Germans.

“It’s good to learn about Kazakh folklore, the performance was remarkable, if slightly cheesy,” Daniel, a German designer said as he swallowed a mouthful of baursak, a popular Kazakh fried bread snack.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)

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Visitor numbers to Georgia drops

MARCH 14 2015 (The Bulletin) – Georgia received nearly 8% less visitors in January and February this year compared to the same period last year, media reported quoting government figures. Some analysts blamed the drop on tightened visa regulations for visitors from China, Iran, Iraq and Egypt.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)