2020-06-05
"First of all, I wish to tell you that I am delighted to be here. We understand that people engaged in the tourism industry are particularly challenged now and it is not easy at all. We can neither say that everything can change or feel great overnight. However, we hope that slowly, gradually, we will regain everything" announced Giorgi Gakharia, Prime Minister of Georgia while welcoming the tourism sector representatives in Imereti region today.
Head of Government of Georgia thereby stressed the importance of joint efforts towards this end.
"We will need about a year. We should all understand that we should all work together. Government, businesses and local authorities on their own will not succeed in their efforts. This pandemic is a global challenge and we as a country taken separately, will fail to address it. That is why we are now actively working in bilateral formats with specific countries and it appears that first of all we will be welcoming tourists from Israel. Two main destinations tend to be in the focus of visitors from Israel: of course, Kutaisi stands first and then comes Batumi. Thus, we should get prepared. Irrespective of the fact that myself and the government are discussing the economy at a greater extent, we should not forget the virus. What is happening in our region, in the neighboring states, in countries with stronger economies will get the number of infected people increase proportional to the degree of their economic re-opening. Common goal of us all is very clear and reasonable. We should re-open with caution to make sure that we get rightly adjusted, treat people and thereby gradually resume operation of tourism destinations, enterprises, restaurants and everything else" noted the Prime Minister of Georgia.
According to the Head of Government of Georgia, it is essential for people to know that in contrast with other countries, spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is low and it creates additional opportunities for the development of tourism.
"Today there are only a few nations and regions considered to be virus-free and "green". Georgia is among them. That is why it will give you a certain value in addition to our current advantages. You need to conceptualize that a tourist arriving now is a completely different one. S/he has greater purchasing power, compared to the backpacker visitors that travel around the globe by hitchhiking. People of a completely different segment will get attracted to Georgia. They will have different requirements and I am confident that it will allow you to generate greater income. Most important of all is to know that compared to other countries, Georgia has a lower spread of COVID-19. This level should be maintained at any cost. It allows us to develop tourism and other sectors of the economy" added the Prime Minister of Georgia when talking with representatives of the tourism sector.
Head of Government of Georgia thereby underlined that it is vital for Georgians to holiday domestically and to retain the proceeds from tourism within Georgia.
"At a technical level, Ministry of Health of Georgia is inspecting several hotels in the Imereti region to identify those that are ready to admit tourists as soon as we re-open. Initially, domestic tourism will kick-start and I am confident that it will generate a substantially significant demand" noted the Prime Minister of Georgia.
According to the Head of Government of Georgia, country will be among the first to effectively re-open tourism and medical doctors, policemen and border guards have a pivotal role to play in this.
"First of all, we should teach Georgians how to holiday and leave money within Georgia. When a person goes to a relative or grandparents, which also falls under the category of domestic tourism and we should know that it also has its economic power. We should pick up on this quickly and learn fast. We should meet the standards and then get ready to welcome foreign visitors.
It will be hard, as everything needs to be done with caution and in a reasonable manner. It is possible though. Let me tell you more. We may be among the first countries to do so. We will be definitely the first in the region to effectively open up. I am now talking about tourism, while many other sectors of the economy were re-opened in a much better and faster way. We should be one of the first countries to maintain the progress and go through the adaptation of every kind to get adjusted, quickly identify and treat the infected individuals. Kutaisi has one of the best hospitals of infectious diseases and healthcare system has overall been always strong here. We were covering West Georgia from here. Thus, it has a great importance as well to quickly identify, quickly treat and quickly return the contracted individuals to their families and workplaces, so that they generates income and supports their families. It is a mere fact, but requires most prudent and responsible, effective actions from medical doctors first of all and then from policemen and border guards. It is still a great risk that infection gets imported" added the Prime Minister of Georgia.
According to the Head of Government of Georgia, it is equally important the service providers comply with the established standards.
"We are controlling domestic spread and it is a fact that we no longer have new clusters. If we identify an infected individual, we can trace the source. Quarantine spaces are also working very effectively as buffer zones. When individuals arrive, they get quarantined for 14 days and we perform lab tests. Many infected individuals come from quarantine zones. That is why this system is streamlined. Nevertheless, imported cases are still associated with a great risk. We cannot stop the country and international trade. Trucks are moving, inter alia through Kutaisi. This contains risk in its entirety and control is pivotal here. That is why border guards, policemen, patrolling officers are of greatest importance, followed with you - service providers - who will be admitting our citizens first and then international travelers. Standards are not hard to follow. Thermal screening and ordinary disinfection protocols need to be followed. We will be supported by what is called a decent cleaning, decent transport and it is simple, not hard at all" said the Prime Minister of Georgia to the representatives of the tourism industry in Imereti region.
According to the Head of Government of Georgia, what the country succeeded to do in terms of managing the infection and penetration of epidemic, should be reflected in specific economic outcomes.
"We depend on each other in this regard. I depend on you to the extent with which you comply with these rules and you depend on the government in the context of COVID-19 to the extent with which we attract tourists from "clean" countries and in an organized manner. As for the bilateral agreements with specific countries, which are perceived to be sourcing nations of first visitors in real terms. These are Israel, Baltic countries, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Austria. What we succeeded in doing in terms of managing the infection and penetration of epidemics, should be reflected in specific economic outcomes. Specific economic results manifest themselves in the number of inbound tourists. And here we depend on each other. We depend on each other in this regard. I depend on you to the extent with which you comply with these rules and you depend on the government in the context of COVID-19 to the extent with which we attract tourists from "clean" countries and in an organized manner. It applies to many sectors, restaurants, transport and especially in Imereti, which tends to attract more travelers" noted the Prime Minister of Georgia.
Head of Government of Georgia underlined the significance of adherence to safety norms at hotels and thereby noted that the State will provide due support to hotels to make sure that they admit more visitors.
"Ministries of Economy and Health are already accepting applications from individual hotels requesting a team to go and inspect if they meet the criteria and re-open. A certain number has been inspected already. Yesterday, they were inspecting hotels in Tbilisi. Out of 75, criteria were met by 15. This number should not scare you. You may well be aware that Tbilisi has many large hotels, but small ones have slightly different requirements to comply with. Thus, you need to apply and check what requirements apply. Compliance is not hard. Ministries of Health and Economy will help you in this. As soon as you receive the permission, domestic tourism will be the first to come and the National Tourism Administration will help you then. Imagine it simply - country will have hotels that had been tested and meet certain standards. List of such hotels will be known to everyone. We are keen to promote these hotels to our foreign partners in the context of security and safety" noted the Prime Minister of Georgia.
According to the Head of Government of Georgia, visiting cards of the country throughout the world are its history, landscape, geography, cuisine, wine and now effective management of infection comparative to other countries on top of these.
"We should work hard to meet the standards, however we should not forget the virus and we should always remember it. We should keep the virus in mind and work hard to protect primarily ourselves and our compatriots, our elderly and visitors of course. It is not loud talk. In recent years Georgia has become a significant tourism destination. High traffic of visitors is attracted to Georgia. Everything that we had so far and has been used for marketing, with which we promoted Georgia throughout the world - history, landscape, geography, cuisine and wine should now be supplemented with an effective management of the infection in contrast with other countries. People should know that branding of Georgia as a destination of tourism should be intensified by people not getting frightened of COVID, as the epidemic has been effectively managed and we emerge as a COVID-free country. It is possible only by working together. You are specifically responsible for passing the inspection to ensure the re-opening of hotels to the maximum extent. This chain has interrelated components - if there is a re-opened hotel, which meets the norms, it attracts more tourists; restaurants have more work; agriculture engages more people to make sure that more cucumbers and tomatoes are produced and sold. Tourism, whether domestic or foreign, generates demand and it is then met by all of us - starting from a peasant, and completed with hotels and business owners. That is why we should all work together" concluded the Prime Minister of Georgia.
Press Service of the Government Administration