Tag Archives: tourism

Work starts in Georgia on world’s sixth largest hotel

BATUMI/Georgia, MAY 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Georgian real estate developer Orbi Group said it has started construction work on a $120m hotel in Batumi called the Twin Tower, a sign that tourism and business on Georgia’s Black Sea coast is possibly rebounding.

The two 45-storey towers will hold 4,500 hotel rooms, making it the sixth largest hotel complex in the world when it is completed by the end of next year.

Batumi is Georgia’s main tourist destination and had been the site of mass redevelopment. The previous government of Mikheil Saakashvili had spent heavily improving Batumi but its fortunes had dived after the election of the Georgian Dream coalition government in 2012.

This lack of favour coupled with an economic downturn triggered by low oil prices stalled many of Batumi’s planned projects.

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Tourism grows in Armenia

APRIL 30 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The National Statistical Service of Armenia said 252,506 tourists arrived in Armenia during the first quarter of 2016. This figure is an 8.6% increase compared to the first quarter of 2015. This may reflect Armenia’s increased attractiveness to Russian tourists, who have been banned from visiting Turkey because of a row between the two neighbours.

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(News report from Issue No. 279, published on May 6 2016)

 

New Astoria opens in Georgia

MARCH 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Astoria, a private Georgian company, opened its second hotel in the centre of Tbilisi, highlighting a boom in tourism. The company, owned by businessmen Malkhaz Manvelishvili and Amiran Gozalishvili, has spent 32m lari ($14m) on building the hotels. Tbilisi has been short of hotel rooms.

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(News report from Issue No. 274, published on  April 1 2016)

 

Russian tourism to Azerbaijan to rise

MARCH 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The number of Russian tourists going to Azerbaijan for holidays will increase by 50% according to calculations by Russian financial newspaper Kommersant. Due to diplomatic sanctions against Turkey, the Russian government banned Turkey as a holiday destination for its citizens.

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(News report from Issue No. 274, published on April 1 2016)

 

Turkish developer opens new hotel in Georgian capital

MARCH 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkish real estate developer Mehmet Surkit opened a new luxury boutique hotel in central Tbilisi. In a statement, Mr Surkit said the hotel had cost 12m lari ($5.3m). Hotel groups have been expanding rapidly in Tbilisi. The city is also promoting itself as a tourist and business destination.

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(News report from Issue No. 273, published on  March 25 2016)

Crowne Plaza opens in Georgia

MARCH 6 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – UK-based InterContinental Hotels Group opened a new five-star hotel in Borjomi, a Georgian resort town. The hotel, branded Crowne Plaza, cost $32m to build. Borjomi is famous for its water. Borjomi fizzy water is one of Georgia’s biggest exports. InterContinental also owns a Holiday Inn hotel in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi.

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(News report from Issue No. 271, published on  March 11 2016)

 

Iranians welcome Georgia’s new visa rules

FEB. 25 2016, TBILISI (The Conway Bulletin) — Iranians already living in Tbilisi have welcomed Georgia’s decision to lift visa restrictions.

Over the last six years, Iranian restaurants, shops and travel agencies have sprung up along the streets of Georgia’s capital. Iranians had viewed Georgia as a soft way around sanctions and also as a place to taste a more Western lifestyle. And Georgia, in turn, had welcomed the tourists and businessmen from Iran, even dropping visa restrictions in 2011 before, under US pressure, re-imposing them two years later.

Like the rest of the South Caucasus region, Iran wants to expand and strengthen its relations with Georgia. Now, with sanctions on Iran being lifted earlier this year, Georgia’s government said this month that it had lifted visa rules.

Iranians, with their distinct hair- styles and tighter, more colourful clothes compared to the dowdy black favoured by Georgians, an increasingly frequent sight in Georgia.

Most welcomed improved ties between Georgia and Iran.

Sahar, a 40-year-old Iranian living in Tbilisi was working in a bar.

“The visa free regime is a first step in strengthening regional cooperation, and was initiated by president Rouhani. He thinks it’s important that life of its citizens living outside of Iran is not difficult. And he sees it as a first step in increased economic relations,” she said between pouring glasses of beer for her customers.

Sahar, who applied for refugee status a year ago, is happy about the developments said that she had been living in Georgia for three years and that relaxing the visa system would increase the amount if Iranians travelling to Georgia.

“Tbilisi is similar, architecturally, to Tehran, I feel at home. But at least here I can be myself, be free,” she said. “My friends feel the same, a lot of them are talking about visiting Georgia for a few months, to breath, to get some air.”

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(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)

 

Hotel to open in Georgia

FEB. 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian company RED-Co said it will build a $15m five-star Radisson hotel in the Gudauri ski resort. The new hotel will open in 2017 at the bottom of the Gudauri ski gondola. Together with the Georgian government, several private companies are developing the Gudauri ski resort, 30km south of the border with Russia. It will be the first five-star hotel at Gudauri.

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(News report from Issue No. 269, published on  Feb. 26 2016)

Hilton opens up in Armenia

FEB. 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – US hotel group Hilton opened its first hotel in Armenia, giving the Armenian economy a boost. The Doubletree brand is one of Hilton’s top mainstream brand. The 176-room hotel is aimed at both tourists and business people, Hilton said in a press statement.

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(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)

 

Azerbaijan makes easy visa for Middle East

JAN. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan has made it easier for citizens of Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Japan, China, South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore to obtain visas by making them available on arrival at airports. Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said the country wants to promote tourist visits and business relations. In 2010, Azerbaijan scrapped visas- on-arrival for most Western countries.

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(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)