Development of Sustainable Tourism Products in Mountainous and Freshwater Ecosystems in Georgian Conservation Areas

The project “Support for Georgia in the Field of Protected Area Development” is implemented by UNWTO together with itscollaborating project partners, the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA), the Agency for Protected Areas of Georgia (APA), the Centre for Biodiversity Conservation and Research (NACRES) and the Georgian Tourism Association (GTA). With the financial support of the Federal German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conversation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) the UNWTO´s Consulting Unit on Tourism and Biodiversity will run the project in the period from March 2012 until February 2014.

The aim of the project is to support the national nature protection and tourism authorities by the implementation of progressive strategies and regulations for protected area management and sustainable tourism development. As such, the main objectives of the project comprise of:

  1. Establishment of a network of ecosystem-based tourism products
  2. Increase of the capacity of local people, park staff and tourism stakeholders for the development and operation of biodiversity-based tourism products
  3. Development and implementation of marketing strategies for each conservation area for specific target groups

The expected outcomes include the development of eight pilot biodiversity-based tourism products in mountain and freshwater ecosystemsinfour protected areas in Georgia: Kolkheti National Park, Mtirala National Park, Vashlovani Protected Areas, and Lagodekhi Protected Areas. This will be further accompanied by the generation of site-specific management plans and a label for the developedbiodiversity-based tourism products, as well as the preparation of target group specific tourist information packages for each site.