(bbc.co.uk) Duration: 05:22
The 2014 Winter Olympics will be held in the Caucasus Mountains, in the Russian city of Sotchi. The tallest peak is almost 1000 meters higher than the highest point in the Alps.
But as the Olympic pistes are being prepared in Russia, skiers are discovering the slopes on the other side of the border, in Georgia. Damien McGuinness, decided to sample the joys of skiing in Europe's highest, and wildest, mountain range.
Showing posts with label Gudauri. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gudauri. Show all posts
Monday, February 11, 2013
Saturday, January 08, 2011
TRAVEL: New York Times: The 41 Places to Go in 2011; 6. Republik of Georgia (nytimes.com)
photo: David Turnley/Corbis
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: January 7, 2011
From the beaches of Mexico to the wilds of Kurdistan, the places on this year’s list take you to the end of the world and back.
6. Republic of Georgia
And now, in efforts spearheaded by the Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, the ski-resort bug is spreading even further. In Mestia, the first groomed slopes of a new resort opened in December. Also earmarked as a winter hot spot is Goderdzi pass, which can have snow coverage six months a year. — KIMBERLY BRADLEY
more: travel.nytimes.com
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
INTERVIEW: Putting Georgia on the World Map - Georgia striving to become international tourism destination (finchannel.com)
Written by Koka Kalandadze
The FINANCIAL -- Interview with Maia Sidamonidze, Chairwoman of the Georgian National Tourism Agency.
Q. What are the three main challenges that are slowing the development of tourism in Georgia?
A. I think we have quite significant challenges affecting tourism in Georgia. The primary challenge for us is to satisfy the demand for our country, which is potentially huge, and provide this sector with the needed infrastructure. The second challenge is the quality of service in the hospitality sector which is very important in maintaining the amount of tourists, or even increasing them. Thirdly there’s need for an education system, as we need good human skills in this sector. For some reason there is sometimes a negative attitude towards the service sector but we want to popularize this industry in order to make people want to work in it.
Q. How many tourists do you expect this winter and is it likely that hotels may not be able to accommodate tourists at some point?
A. Last year we had 80,000 people going to Bakuriani and Gudauri, if we consider the fact that new infrastructure is developed and new destinations like Mestia have appeared, then it could reach more than 100,000 this year. If for example last year’s number doubled then we wouldn’t have a sufficient amount of hotels to cater to the new demand. In Svaneti there are 450 beds but even though new projects are continuing to come up I’m sure that Svaneti will be full this season.
Q. As statistics show, the bulk of tourists are still flowing in from neighbouring countries and the CIS. Does that mean that the Georgian tourism sector should be oriented more at its neighbours?
A. I think we should maximize our potential when dealing with our neighbour countries. The reason that those people from neighbouring countries are coming here is that they know Georgia well and have a good relationship with us on a country level, they also know that we have a great combination of sea and mountains here. This has been true since the time of the Soviet Union, and they’re closer in mentality to us as well. The primary markets are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Ukraine , Belarus, Baltic Countries, Kazakhstan, Israel and Iran.
There’s even greater potential from Asia, America and Western Europe. But if we need to enter those markets then first we need to increase awareness about Georgia and therein lies a problem - concerning international awareness about our country. When people hear about Georgia they still associate it with tense political situations. Secondly we should focus on our strategy in terms of how to enter and brand Georgia on foreign markets, and to supply their demand. We’re working very closely with the private sectors of those countries as well as Georgian ones to provide up to date information on tourist resorts together with having business partnerships so as to have a lot of tourists flowing here.
Q. What new is being done to attract people from European countries and the United States to Georgia?
A. On Western and American markets we need to raise the popularity of Georgia among their people. As we’re not such a rich country to afford to advertise on TV all the time, we need to attend exhibitions, meet and make the right contacts there and provide media tours for them.
We had the Shanghai Expo recently and it was very helpful in increasing awareness of Georgia there. Most of the people at the exhibition didn’t know much about Georgia although they became interested over the course of the event and almost 2 million people visited our stand there, making those people potential tourists for us.
Generally we do a promo campaign when we’re going abroad which involves the following: with the help of our overseas Georgian embassies we arrange meetings with tour operators that are working and then with travel media representatives we do presentations, thereafter inviting them here on a fun trip - which is a familiarization trip, according to the season.
As for the advertising campaigns as you know there was the “Summer in Georgia” video clip which turned out to be quite successful as a bulk of tourists came here following that. In addition for winter we’re planning to do some advertisements too. Nowadays, due to globalization the internet has become one of the cheapest and most effective tools to advertise and do PR campaigns. So this year we’ll be busy with internet activities on blogs, creating new websites as we generally need to increase our internet representation as a lot of tourists are searching for info on the net.
In addition it’s very important to educate the private sector and advise them on how to provide online booking systems and other services for tourists to easily get what they want.
Q. Which types of travel packages could be created to boost the demand in Europe for Georgian tours?
To gain a competitive advantage you need to have very innovative and different packages on offer so as to differentiate from other countries - specific tours combined with low prices. Recently prices for tours to Georgia were cut due to the introduction of low cost airlines. We’re still cheap compared to lots of tourist destinations but perhaps for some people in Baltic countries for example it’s cheaper for them to go to a Scandinavian country rather than come to Georgia, just in terms of price.
Q. What is the brand of Georgia like? How do tourists identify our country?
A. I don’t think we have a strong brand identity or a slogan for Georgia. But at the same time we’re busy working on positioning the country on the world map in terms of all four seasons and diversity.
The word diversity is very well applied to our Georgian tourism brand as the country is rich in natural tourism destinations and all the needed resources in addition to being culturally diverse.
Q. Could you tell us which global travel companies offer travel packages to Georgia?
A. There are travel agencies who are active promoting Georgia. As we have invited them here and tried to arrange meetings with the private sector here. So they are the ones who start negotiating with the private sector and thereafter create the needed travel packages. That’s how it works as if you want to sell a package then you have to have the contact info of the travel agency which is concerned with outgoing tourism. So whenever you have a partnership abroad, they try to sell your packages there. Thus even though you might not have an office in a foreign country, by cooperating with certain agencies you can attract a number of tourists from there.
Recently we made a partnership with the biggest Israeli travel agency called “Flying Carpet” who had thousands of people travelling to Turkey, but then it stopped as you know, so now for 40% of those tourists Georgia is the best tourist destination.
Q. How do you think of and evaluate the prices that hotels or other guest houses charge for tourists in Georgia compared to other countries like Turkey?
A. When we compare Georgia to Turkey, they’re ten years ahead so it’s too difficult to compare prices because their tourism development has a long history which means there’s already established demand. They have many hotels, and at the same time there’s huge competition among those hotels and the prices are regulated on the market.
Although we have an increase in terms of number of tourist in Georgia, the private sector and the market still isn’t regulated, the reason being that there need to be more hotels and restaurants opening and when the competition is high then those hotels will be competing with the prices and services they each offer.
Q. What about advertising or introducing travel packages to global travel agencies, what can be done to brand Georgia there as well?
A. Usually how it’s done as I’ve worked with private sector tourism is that, the hotel for instance that I worked for, did revenue management to maximize distribution channels, and internet is one of the distribution channels. Of course we want to be on trip advisor or hotels.com but actually this is the job of the private sector. As when you go to trip advisor then you need to update information about the tourist destinations and no one will do it for you. Then you have to charge reasonable prices.
But when there’s a situation with the market not being educated I think then it’s our job to provide them with the information. That’s why we’re planning from January to do workshops to present main online booking systems like expedia.com and say that you can book a hotel in Georgia on there.
Actually those leading global travel agencies are working on mass tourism where they can sell a lot of travel packages abroad. Secondly they prioritize the countries in which they’re offering the lowest prices for holidays so as to sell their packages. So they always try to sell packages that are cheap.
Nowadays people don’t use travel agencies as actively as they used to but instead use the internet and all existing travel agencies are now reduced to trying to survive on the market, therefore offering the most affordable prices.
We haven’t contacted those agencies because as the Government we can’t do anything. What we can do is invite them here and tell our travel agencies to meet with them but I don’t think they’ll even be coming here as they’re working on mass tourism.
And actually there are lots of countries missing, like even Switzerland, not to mention our neighbouring countries.
Q. Typing Georgia in to Google brings up a lot of information about the U.S. Georgia. It seems as though the actual Republic of Georgia is not well positioned in Google search. How can the brand of Georgia be better promoted in that respect?
A. When I came here and was appointed as Chairwoman, I together with the communication department at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development tried to contact Google. At first we were fobbed off, but when our new minister Vera Kobalia went to the U.S. she managed to meet with the right people at Google.
As for search engine optimization, the reason Georgia is often overtaken by U.S. Georgia sites is that we need to increase the number of websites about our country. One way to optimize the search is to pay Google an amount of money to position our country first or to put key words on websites so that when people search for relevant info your website comes up first.
Q. Even in Google Images (when typing Georgia in the images search section) there are pictures depicting violence and aggression from the August war, subsequent riots, etc. What can be done to remove those pictures? Can’t you ask Google to help with that? (Despite the fact that it’s automatically generated by Google)
A. This is a problem of globalization. As we’re not China or Cuba and we have democracy in the country, we can’t just ask Google to remove the pictures. It’s impossible because then any country would be asking Google for the same thing. So the only way to beat the situation is to cover those negative pictures with positive ones which is just a matter of time.
Q. What’s the budget of the Department of Tourism and Resorts for 2010/11 and is it enough for the execution of all your plans?
A. Currently our budget is 2.5mln GEL but this is going to be increased for the coming year. This money is used for routine activities, exhibitions, printing brochures, paying salaries etc. but when it comes to advertising then this money isn’t enough of course. But in addition if we need some specific advertisement campaign then we’ll be telling it to the Government and presenting it our project for financing. After which they’ll decide whether or not to grant us the money or not.
Q. What is the advantage of Georgia compared to other well known countries? Why should tourists choose Georgia over Italy, France or Turkey?
A. First of all we are a new destination for the world market. Then we’re offering diverse tourism in Georgia for all four seasons. In addition people of all ages are welcome to come here, as they can come and enjoy hunting, fishing, eco tourism, we’ve lots of very nice lakes and nice coastline in addition to ski resorts, and so forth. This is our main advantage as some countries don’t have this luxury at all.
Q. What about the service sector of tourism in Georgia? Is it satisfactory and what can be done to improve it?
A. Of course the service sector is not satisfactory and there should be a lot of things happening in that respect including changes in the education sector. There are some professional schools but the amount of the professional schools should be increased. There are two training centres, one in Tbilisi and one in Kobuleti. Education is actually a long term strategy and what we can have in the short term is small trainings, to encourage businesses to train their staff and be more competitive.
We also plan to create a special website from January where a tourist can go like tripadvisor.com and post positive as well as negative things about any hotel or service they experienced whilst travelling to Georgia. By doing so we’ll gain lots of information and find out where we are lacking. The mentality of the majority of tourist hotel owners is that they’re not willing to train their staff, so once they see that tourists are actually concerned with the service offered then they’ll be encouraged to do so.
Q. How effective will low cost airlines be in terms of bringing tourists to Georgia?
Do you have any specific figure of bulk increase in number of visitors since Pegasus appeared on the market - and what similar initiatives are there to motivate tourists’ inflow in Georgia? Which internal directions are air flights travelling to, and are any other routes being added in the future?
A. Low cost airlines are very important for us, as we are gaining a cost advantage in this case. Pegasus is very popular now and most of the larger airlines are suffering as a result of it entering the market. There are even further negotiations being held with other low cost airlines, but as they are not yet confirmed, the information remains confidential. Right now is the most passive season for tourism so we can’t even observe how effective low cost airlines are in bringing about a bulk increase of tourists.
As for the domestic flights they are also important, as you know we had flights called Air-Batumi this summer which stopped for various reasons but there will be other ones entering this line as well. As for the Mestia destination, from December there’s going to be a new Airport opened there with flights from Tbilisi to Mestia by airplane.
Q. What kind of tours should be offered in order to attract young tourists? Do you have concrete plans in this regard?
A. When targeting young travellers I think internet is the best way to popularize different destinations and tour packages. Recently we had some offers from Euronews and Fashion TV as they’ve started tourism advertising campaigns for different countries. They’re working on youth as well which is good, but at the same time such advertising would cost us a lot.
Source: finchannel.com
The FINANCIAL -- Interview with Maia Sidamonidze, Chairwoman of the Georgian National Tourism Agency.
Q. What are the three main challenges that are slowing the development of tourism in Georgia?
A. I think we have quite significant challenges affecting tourism in Georgia. The primary challenge for us is to satisfy the demand for our country, which is potentially huge, and provide this sector with the needed infrastructure. The second challenge is the quality of service in the hospitality sector which is very important in maintaining the amount of tourists, or even increasing them. Thirdly there’s need for an education system, as we need good human skills in this sector. For some reason there is sometimes a negative attitude towards the service sector but we want to popularize this industry in order to make people want to work in it.
Q. How many tourists do you expect this winter and is it likely that hotels may not be able to accommodate tourists at some point?
A. Last year we had 80,000 people going to Bakuriani and Gudauri, if we consider the fact that new infrastructure is developed and new destinations like Mestia have appeared, then it could reach more than 100,000 this year. If for example last year’s number doubled then we wouldn’t have a sufficient amount of hotels to cater to the new demand. In Svaneti there are 450 beds but even though new projects are continuing to come up I’m sure that Svaneti will be full this season.
Q. As statistics show, the bulk of tourists are still flowing in from neighbouring countries and the CIS. Does that mean that the Georgian tourism sector should be oriented more at its neighbours?
A. I think we should maximize our potential when dealing with our neighbour countries. The reason that those people from neighbouring countries are coming here is that they know Georgia well and have a good relationship with us on a country level, they also know that we have a great combination of sea and mountains here. This has been true since the time of the Soviet Union, and they’re closer in mentality to us as well. The primary markets are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Ukraine , Belarus, Baltic Countries, Kazakhstan, Israel and Iran.
There’s even greater potential from Asia, America and Western Europe. But if we need to enter those markets then first we need to increase awareness about Georgia and therein lies a problem - concerning international awareness about our country. When people hear about Georgia they still associate it with tense political situations. Secondly we should focus on our strategy in terms of how to enter and brand Georgia on foreign markets, and to supply their demand. We’re working very closely with the private sectors of those countries as well as Georgian ones to provide up to date information on tourist resorts together with having business partnerships so as to have a lot of tourists flowing here.
Q. What new is being done to attract people from European countries and the United States to Georgia?
A. On Western and American markets we need to raise the popularity of Georgia among their people. As we’re not such a rich country to afford to advertise on TV all the time, we need to attend exhibitions, meet and make the right contacts there and provide media tours for them.
We had the Shanghai Expo recently and it was very helpful in increasing awareness of Georgia there. Most of the people at the exhibition didn’t know much about Georgia although they became interested over the course of the event and almost 2 million people visited our stand there, making those people potential tourists for us.
Generally we do a promo campaign when we’re going abroad which involves the following: with the help of our overseas Georgian embassies we arrange meetings with tour operators that are working and then with travel media representatives we do presentations, thereafter inviting them here on a fun trip - which is a familiarization trip, according to the season.
As for the advertising campaigns as you know there was the “Summer in Georgia” video clip which turned out to be quite successful as a bulk of tourists came here following that. In addition for winter we’re planning to do some advertisements too. Nowadays, due to globalization the internet has become one of the cheapest and most effective tools to advertise and do PR campaigns. So this year we’ll be busy with internet activities on blogs, creating new websites as we generally need to increase our internet representation as a lot of tourists are searching for info on the net.
In addition it’s very important to educate the private sector and advise them on how to provide online booking systems and other services for tourists to easily get what they want.
Q. Which types of travel packages could be created to boost the demand in Europe for Georgian tours?
To gain a competitive advantage you need to have very innovative and different packages on offer so as to differentiate from other countries - specific tours combined with low prices. Recently prices for tours to Georgia were cut due to the introduction of low cost airlines. We’re still cheap compared to lots of tourist destinations but perhaps for some people in Baltic countries for example it’s cheaper for them to go to a Scandinavian country rather than come to Georgia, just in terms of price.
Q. What is the brand of Georgia like? How do tourists identify our country?
A. I don’t think we have a strong brand identity or a slogan for Georgia. But at the same time we’re busy working on positioning the country on the world map in terms of all four seasons and diversity.
The word diversity is very well applied to our Georgian tourism brand as the country is rich in natural tourism destinations and all the needed resources in addition to being culturally diverse.
Q. Could you tell us which global travel companies offer travel packages to Georgia?
A. There are travel agencies who are active promoting Georgia. As we have invited them here and tried to arrange meetings with the private sector here. So they are the ones who start negotiating with the private sector and thereafter create the needed travel packages. That’s how it works as if you want to sell a package then you have to have the contact info of the travel agency which is concerned with outgoing tourism. So whenever you have a partnership abroad, they try to sell your packages there. Thus even though you might not have an office in a foreign country, by cooperating with certain agencies you can attract a number of tourists from there.
Recently we made a partnership with the biggest Israeli travel agency called “Flying Carpet” who had thousands of people travelling to Turkey, but then it stopped as you know, so now for 40% of those tourists Georgia is the best tourist destination.
Q. How do you think of and evaluate the prices that hotels or other guest houses charge for tourists in Georgia compared to other countries like Turkey?
A. When we compare Georgia to Turkey, they’re ten years ahead so it’s too difficult to compare prices because their tourism development has a long history which means there’s already established demand. They have many hotels, and at the same time there’s huge competition among those hotels and the prices are regulated on the market.
Although we have an increase in terms of number of tourist in Georgia, the private sector and the market still isn’t regulated, the reason being that there need to be more hotels and restaurants opening and when the competition is high then those hotels will be competing with the prices and services they each offer.
Q. What about advertising or introducing travel packages to global travel agencies, what can be done to brand Georgia there as well?
A. Usually how it’s done as I’ve worked with private sector tourism is that, the hotel for instance that I worked for, did revenue management to maximize distribution channels, and internet is one of the distribution channels. Of course we want to be on trip advisor or hotels.com but actually this is the job of the private sector. As when you go to trip advisor then you need to update information about the tourist destinations and no one will do it for you. Then you have to charge reasonable prices.
But when there’s a situation with the market not being educated I think then it’s our job to provide them with the information. That’s why we’re planning from January to do workshops to present main online booking systems like expedia.com and say that you can book a hotel in Georgia on there.
Actually those leading global travel agencies are working on mass tourism where they can sell a lot of travel packages abroad. Secondly they prioritize the countries in which they’re offering the lowest prices for holidays so as to sell their packages. So they always try to sell packages that are cheap.
Nowadays people don’t use travel agencies as actively as they used to but instead use the internet and all existing travel agencies are now reduced to trying to survive on the market, therefore offering the most affordable prices.
We haven’t contacted those agencies because as the Government we can’t do anything. What we can do is invite them here and tell our travel agencies to meet with them but I don’t think they’ll even be coming here as they’re working on mass tourism.
And actually there are lots of countries missing, like even Switzerland, not to mention our neighbouring countries.
Q. Typing Georgia in to Google brings up a lot of information about the U.S. Georgia. It seems as though the actual Republic of Georgia is not well positioned in Google search. How can the brand of Georgia be better promoted in that respect?
A. When I came here and was appointed as Chairwoman, I together with the communication department at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development tried to contact Google. At first we were fobbed off, but when our new minister Vera Kobalia went to the U.S. she managed to meet with the right people at Google.
As for search engine optimization, the reason Georgia is often overtaken by U.S. Georgia sites is that we need to increase the number of websites about our country. One way to optimize the search is to pay Google an amount of money to position our country first or to put key words on websites so that when people search for relevant info your website comes up first.
Q. Even in Google Images (when typing Georgia in the images search section) there are pictures depicting violence and aggression from the August war, subsequent riots, etc. What can be done to remove those pictures? Can’t you ask Google to help with that? (Despite the fact that it’s automatically generated by Google)
A. This is a problem of globalization. As we’re not China or Cuba and we have democracy in the country, we can’t just ask Google to remove the pictures. It’s impossible because then any country would be asking Google for the same thing. So the only way to beat the situation is to cover those negative pictures with positive ones which is just a matter of time.
Q. What’s the budget of the Department of Tourism and Resorts for 2010/11 and is it enough for the execution of all your plans?
A. Currently our budget is 2.5mln GEL but this is going to be increased for the coming year. This money is used for routine activities, exhibitions, printing brochures, paying salaries etc. but when it comes to advertising then this money isn’t enough of course. But in addition if we need some specific advertisement campaign then we’ll be telling it to the Government and presenting it our project for financing. After which they’ll decide whether or not to grant us the money or not.
Q. What is the advantage of Georgia compared to other well known countries? Why should tourists choose Georgia over Italy, France or Turkey?
A. First of all we are a new destination for the world market. Then we’re offering diverse tourism in Georgia for all four seasons. In addition people of all ages are welcome to come here, as they can come and enjoy hunting, fishing, eco tourism, we’ve lots of very nice lakes and nice coastline in addition to ski resorts, and so forth. This is our main advantage as some countries don’t have this luxury at all.
Q. What about the service sector of tourism in Georgia? Is it satisfactory and what can be done to improve it?
A. Of course the service sector is not satisfactory and there should be a lot of things happening in that respect including changes in the education sector. There are some professional schools but the amount of the professional schools should be increased. There are two training centres, one in Tbilisi and one in Kobuleti. Education is actually a long term strategy and what we can have in the short term is small trainings, to encourage businesses to train their staff and be more competitive.
We also plan to create a special website from January where a tourist can go like tripadvisor.com and post positive as well as negative things about any hotel or service they experienced whilst travelling to Georgia. By doing so we’ll gain lots of information and find out where we are lacking. The mentality of the majority of tourist hotel owners is that they’re not willing to train their staff, so once they see that tourists are actually concerned with the service offered then they’ll be encouraged to do so.
Q. How effective will low cost airlines be in terms of bringing tourists to Georgia?
Do you have any specific figure of bulk increase in number of visitors since Pegasus appeared on the market - and what similar initiatives are there to motivate tourists’ inflow in Georgia? Which internal directions are air flights travelling to, and are any other routes being added in the future?
A. Low cost airlines are very important for us, as we are gaining a cost advantage in this case. Pegasus is very popular now and most of the larger airlines are suffering as a result of it entering the market. There are even further negotiations being held with other low cost airlines, but as they are not yet confirmed, the information remains confidential. Right now is the most passive season for tourism so we can’t even observe how effective low cost airlines are in bringing about a bulk increase of tourists.
As for the domestic flights they are also important, as you know we had flights called Air-Batumi this summer which stopped for various reasons but there will be other ones entering this line as well. As for the Mestia destination, from December there’s going to be a new Airport opened there with flights from Tbilisi to Mestia by airplane.
Q. What kind of tours should be offered in order to attract young tourists? Do you have concrete plans in this regard?
A. When targeting young travellers I think internet is the best way to popularize different destinations and tour packages. Recently we had some offers from Euronews and Fashion TV as they’ve started tourism advertising campaigns for different countries. They’re working on youth as well which is good, but at the same time such advertising would cost us a lot.
Source: finchannel.com
Monday, November 15, 2010
HELISKIING: Im Schnee auf den Gipfeln des Kaukasus. Von Koka Kalandadze. (finchannel.com)
in english >>>
The FINANCIAL -- Heliskiing, namentlich helicopter skiing, downhill skiing ist jetzt auch in georgien erschlossen. Nicht weit von der Georgischen Heerstraße mit seiner Basis in Gudauri.
Das Georgisch-französische Unternehmen Heliksir startet seine ersten Touren im Jahr 2009 und bringt seither Touristen mit einem französischen Hubschrauber auf die höchsten Gipfeln des Kaukasus.
Heliskiing ist für Extremsport-Liebhaber, und zwar für alle, die lange Abfahrten und natürliches Gelände für Snowboard-und Skifahrten bevorzugen. Helisport gab es erstmals in Kanada in der Mitte der 1950er Jahre und dannnach gab es diese Möglichkeit des Wintersports auch in Italien, Alaska, Deutschland, Frankreich und anderen Ländern mit Hochgebirgen.
Heliksir erobert jetzt den Markt für diese Sportart, jedoch startete schon 1992 ein sowjetischer Hubschrauber mit Besatzung und österreichischen Touristen in den Kaukasus.
Levan Ananiaschwili, Executive Director von Heliksir, erzählte, dass Heliskiing immer populärer wird in Georgien.
"Im Jahr 2009, als wir unser Unternehmen gründeten, konnten wir bis zu 20 Touristen mit einem Helikopter in die Berge bringen. Mittlerweile haben wir zwei französische Hubschrauber mit Besatzung und sind in der Lage bis zu 400 Touristen abzufertigen", sprach Ananiaschwili.
"Heliksir ist eine georgische Gesellschaft, obwohl es von einem georgischen und zwei französischen Investoren gegründet wurde. Wir haben zwei erstklassige, von dem französischen Unternehmen SAF (Service aérien Francais - Französisch Air Service - einer der weltweit führenden Unternehmen in der Zivilluftfahrt) erworbenen Hubschrauber", sagte er.
"Eigentlich wollten wir mit dem Unternehmen Heliksir früher beginnen, aber wegen des August-Krieges 2008 und anderer ungünstigen Bedingungen konnten wir das nicht gewährleiten", betonte er.
"Der kaukasus ist einer der besten Optionen für Heliskiing auf der ganzen Welt aufgrund der Tatsache, dass der Kaukasus die höchsten Berge in Europa bietet, beispielsweise die Hänge des Berges des Skhara-Massivs mit einer Höhe von 5.210 m. Besonders hervorzuheben ist, dass der Kaukasus ein leicht zu erreichendes Ziel aus Europa ist. Man benötigt nur 3-4 Stunden Flugzeit", sagte der Ananiaschwili.
Angebote von Heliksir sind wie folgt: Standard 7 Tages- und 3 Tages-Tour-Pakete kosten zwischen 6.000 und 2.700 EUR pro Person.
Eine 7-tägige Tour beinhaltet Gruppen von 4 Personen und ein Guide für jede Gruppe inklusive Transport, Unterkunft, Verpflegung und 30.000 Höhenmeter Skifahrt.
Eine 3 Tages-Tour beinhaltet das gleiche, aber mit nur 11.500 Höhenmeter Skifahrt.
Es gibt auch ein Gast-Paket, das die Unterkunft in Gudauri ausschließt. Der Gast-Paket kostet 650 EUR pro Person und Tag, die eine Führung, Einsatz von Pulver Ski-und Sicherheitsausrüstung und 4.500 Höhenmeter Skifahrt beinhaltet. Es gibt sogar Halbtagestouren mit demselben Service, die jedoch 450 EUR mit nur 3.000 Höhenmeter Skifahrt kosten.
Touristen zahlen 30% des Reisepreisesvor antritt der Reise nach Georgien, und den Rest nach ihrer Ankunft. Touristen sind in der Lage, elektronisch bezahlen.
Laut Ananiaschwili sind bisher die meisten Besucher Franzosen, aber dieses Jahr erwarten sie auch Interessierte aus anderen Ländern.
"Die Saison selbst beginnt ab Mitte Januar und dauert bis Ende März", sagte er.
"Wir bieten ein Full-Service für Touristen, enthalten sind der Shuttle vom Flughafen nach Tbilisi und dann geht es mit dem Auto nach Gudauri, in das 4 Sterne Hotel "Gudauri Hotel" in das gleichnamige Skigebiet. Dort haben sie die besten Routen, die Gudauri zu bieten hat.", sagte Ananiaschwili.
"In einem Hubschrauber können auf einmal vier Personen aufgenommen werden. Während eines Tages kann der Hubschrauber bis zu 16-20 Personen abhängig von der Entfernung der Reise dienen. Ein Guide zeigt die Tour vom Gipfel den Berg hinunter. Während einer 7-tägigen Tour wird Heliskier sie 30.000 Meter vertikale Höhenmeter anbieten", erklärt Ananiaschwili.
"Es gibt mehr als 30 Routen von unterschiedlicher Länge und Schwierigkeit in sechs der malerischsten Gegenden Gudauri's. Wir haben eine grüne, blaue, rote und schwarze Tour - jenach dem Grad der Schwierigkeit und Steigung", betonte er.
"Dieser zuverlässige, nahezu geräuschloses B3 Hubschrauber, kann einen Piloten, ein Führer und vier Skifahrer aufnehmen. Die Touristen werden auch durch französisch sprechende Piloten und Ingenieure während des gesamten Aufenthalts durch Heliksir begleitet", sagte er.
"Wenn die Touristen sich für ein anderes Hotel oder Gästehaus entscheiden dann zahlen sie nur 650 EUR für einen Tagesausflug. Wir können auch einige zusätzliche Tage nach dem Ende der eigentlichen Pauschalreise auf Anfrage hinzufügen, aber nur wenn es die Schneeverhältnisse zulassen. Darüber hinaus sollten alle Besucher über eine Krankenversicherung verfügen", sagte Ananiaschwili.
Informationen über das Heliksir Unternehmen können nur in den großen Fluggesellschaften "Onboard Magazine" gefunden werden. Touristen können auch auf unserer Website heliskir.com mehr über das Unternehmen erfahren.
Die allgemeine Geschichte von Heliski-Sport in Georgien gehen auf 1992 zurück, als das Unternehmen mit sowjetischen Hubschraubern in Tuschetien 80-100 Personen in einer Saison dienten - die meisten waren Österreicher. Aber wegen der instabilen politischen Umfeldes und andere Faktoren wurde das Heliskiing in Georgien gestoppt. Heliksir leistete Pionierarbeit in Georgien.
Laut Ananiaschwili hat Georgien viele eigene Vorteile im Heliskiing: "Wir können mit anderen Ländern, die diesen Sport anbieten - wie die USA (Alaska), Russland und Neuseeland - aufgrund des einfachen Fluges von und nach Europa konkurrieren. Wenn man beispielsweise von Europa nach Kanada zum Heliskiing fliegt, beträgt der Kartenpreis mindestens 2 / 3 mal mehr und benötigt eine Flugzeit von 9-12 Stunden. Nach Georgien dauert der Flug von Europa aus 3-4 Stunden ohne großartige die Zeitverschiebunmgen", sagte Ananiaschwili.
"Schließlich, wenn die Nachfrage nach Heliskiing sich erhöht dann werden wir im nächsten Jahr 12 Sitz Hubschrauber einführen ... ", fügte er hinzu.
Source: finchannel.com
The FINANCIAL -- Heliskiing, namentlich helicopter skiing, downhill skiing ist jetzt auch in georgien erschlossen. Nicht weit von der Georgischen Heerstraße mit seiner Basis in Gudauri.
Das Georgisch-französische Unternehmen Heliksir startet seine ersten Touren im Jahr 2009 und bringt seither Touristen mit einem französischen Hubschrauber auf die höchsten Gipfeln des Kaukasus.
Heliskiing ist für Extremsport-Liebhaber, und zwar für alle, die lange Abfahrten und natürliches Gelände für Snowboard-und Skifahrten bevorzugen. Helisport gab es erstmals in Kanada in der Mitte der 1950er Jahre und dannnach gab es diese Möglichkeit des Wintersports auch in Italien, Alaska, Deutschland, Frankreich und anderen Ländern mit Hochgebirgen.
Heliksir erobert jetzt den Markt für diese Sportart, jedoch startete schon 1992 ein sowjetischer Hubschrauber mit Besatzung und österreichischen Touristen in den Kaukasus.
Levan Ananiaschwili, Executive Director von Heliksir, erzählte, dass Heliskiing immer populärer wird in Georgien.
"Im Jahr 2009, als wir unser Unternehmen gründeten, konnten wir bis zu 20 Touristen mit einem Helikopter in die Berge bringen. Mittlerweile haben wir zwei französische Hubschrauber mit Besatzung und sind in der Lage bis zu 400 Touristen abzufertigen", sprach Ananiaschwili.
"Heliksir ist eine georgische Gesellschaft, obwohl es von einem georgischen und zwei französischen Investoren gegründet wurde. Wir haben zwei erstklassige, von dem französischen Unternehmen SAF (Service aérien Francais - Französisch Air Service - einer der weltweit führenden Unternehmen in der Zivilluftfahrt) erworbenen Hubschrauber", sagte er.
"Eigentlich wollten wir mit dem Unternehmen Heliksir früher beginnen, aber wegen des August-Krieges 2008 und anderer ungünstigen Bedingungen konnten wir das nicht gewährleiten", betonte er.
"Der kaukasus ist einer der besten Optionen für Heliskiing auf der ganzen Welt aufgrund der Tatsache, dass der Kaukasus die höchsten Berge in Europa bietet, beispielsweise die Hänge des Berges des Skhara-Massivs mit einer Höhe von 5.210 m. Besonders hervorzuheben ist, dass der Kaukasus ein leicht zu erreichendes Ziel aus Europa ist. Man benötigt nur 3-4 Stunden Flugzeit", sagte der Ananiaschwili.
Angebote von Heliksir sind wie folgt: Standard 7 Tages- und 3 Tages-Tour-Pakete kosten zwischen 6.000 und 2.700 EUR pro Person.
Eine 7-tägige Tour beinhaltet Gruppen von 4 Personen und ein Guide für jede Gruppe inklusive Transport, Unterkunft, Verpflegung und 30.000 Höhenmeter Skifahrt.
Eine 3 Tages-Tour beinhaltet das gleiche, aber mit nur 11.500 Höhenmeter Skifahrt.
Es gibt auch ein Gast-Paket, das die Unterkunft in Gudauri ausschließt. Der Gast-Paket kostet 650 EUR pro Person und Tag, die eine Führung, Einsatz von Pulver Ski-und Sicherheitsausrüstung und 4.500 Höhenmeter Skifahrt beinhaltet. Es gibt sogar Halbtagestouren mit demselben Service, die jedoch 450 EUR mit nur 3.000 Höhenmeter Skifahrt kosten.
Touristen zahlen 30% des Reisepreisesvor antritt der Reise nach Georgien, und den Rest nach ihrer Ankunft. Touristen sind in der Lage, elektronisch bezahlen.
Laut Ananiaschwili sind bisher die meisten Besucher Franzosen, aber dieses Jahr erwarten sie auch Interessierte aus anderen Ländern.
"Die Saison selbst beginnt ab Mitte Januar und dauert bis Ende März", sagte er.
"Wir bieten ein Full-Service für Touristen, enthalten sind der Shuttle vom Flughafen nach Tbilisi und dann geht es mit dem Auto nach Gudauri, in das 4 Sterne Hotel "Gudauri Hotel" in das gleichnamige Skigebiet. Dort haben sie die besten Routen, die Gudauri zu bieten hat.", sagte Ananiaschwili.
"In einem Hubschrauber können auf einmal vier Personen aufgenommen werden. Während eines Tages kann der Hubschrauber bis zu 16-20 Personen abhängig von der Entfernung der Reise dienen. Ein Guide zeigt die Tour vom Gipfel den Berg hinunter. Während einer 7-tägigen Tour wird Heliskier sie 30.000 Meter vertikale Höhenmeter anbieten", erklärt Ananiaschwili.
"Es gibt mehr als 30 Routen von unterschiedlicher Länge und Schwierigkeit in sechs der malerischsten Gegenden Gudauri's. Wir haben eine grüne, blaue, rote und schwarze Tour - jenach dem Grad der Schwierigkeit und Steigung", betonte er.
"Dieser zuverlässige, nahezu geräuschloses B3 Hubschrauber, kann einen Piloten, ein Führer und vier Skifahrer aufnehmen. Die Touristen werden auch durch französisch sprechende Piloten und Ingenieure während des gesamten Aufenthalts durch Heliksir begleitet", sagte er.
"Wenn die Touristen sich für ein anderes Hotel oder Gästehaus entscheiden dann zahlen sie nur 650 EUR für einen Tagesausflug. Wir können auch einige zusätzliche Tage nach dem Ende der eigentlichen Pauschalreise auf Anfrage hinzufügen, aber nur wenn es die Schneeverhältnisse zulassen. Darüber hinaus sollten alle Besucher über eine Krankenversicherung verfügen", sagte Ananiaschwili.
Informationen über das Heliksir Unternehmen können nur in den großen Fluggesellschaften "Onboard Magazine" gefunden werden. Touristen können auch auf unserer Website heliskir.com mehr über das Unternehmen erfahren.
Die allgemeine Geschichte von Heliski-Sport in Georgien gehen auf 1992 zurück, als das Unternehmen mit sowjetischen Hubschraubern in Tuschetien 80-100 Personen in einer Saison dienten - die meisten waren Österreicher. Aber wegen der instabilen politischen Umfeldes und andere Faktoren wurde das Heliskiing in Georgien gestoppt. Heliksir leistete Pionierarbeit in Georgien.
Laut Ananiaschwili hat Georgien viele eigene Vorteile im Heliskiing: "Wir können mit anderen Ländern, die diesen Sport anbieten - wie die USA (Alaska), Russland und Neuseeland - aufgrund des einfachen Fluges von und nach Europa konkurrieren. Wenn man beispielsweise von Europa nach Kanada zum Heliskiing fliegt, beträgt der Kartenpreis mindestens 2 / 3 mal mehr und benötigt eine Flugzeit von 9-12 Stunden. Nach Georgien dauert der Flug von Europa aus 3-4 Stunden ohne großartige die Zeitverschiebunmgen", sagte Ananiaschwili.
"Schließlich, wenn die Nachfrage nach Heliskiing sich erhöht dann werden wir im nächsten Jahr 12 Sitz Hubschrauber einführen ... ", fügte er hinzu.
Source: finchannel.com
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
TRAVEL: Tourists will visit Gudauri and Bakuriani, famous winter resorts in Georgia (finchannel.com)
Most Popular Destinations in Winter
Written by Kate Chkhikvadze
The FINANCIAL -- On average 36,000 tourists will visit Gudauri and Bakuriani, famous winter resorts in Georgia, during the winter season 2009-2010, says the Department of Tourism.
Almost all hotel rooms in Bakuriani and Gudauri are already booked for the Christmas period. The majority of tourists who visited the ski resorts last year were Georgians. Bakuriani is popular among Georgians living in Russia whereas Gudauri is mostly visited by Ukrainian citizens.
Bakuriani is located on the northern slope of the Trialeti Range, at an elevation of 1,700 meters (5,576 feet) above sea level. Gudauri is a ski resort located on the southern slopes of The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in Georgia. The resort is situated in the Stepantsminda District, along the Georgian Military Highway near the Cross Pass, at an elevation of 2,196 meters (7,200 feet) above sea level. The trip from Tbilisi to Gudauri usually takes two hours by car. The ski season lasts from December to April. Heliskiing is also available throughout the season.
The department of Tourism and Resorts of Georgia is working on the improvement of quality in winter seasons.
“New units will be opened in Bakuriani and an additional ski route in the Didveli territory. We have entertainment and sports activities planned which will lead to an increased number of tourists. To raise public awareness we are planning to locate web-cameras in the winter resorts,” says Vakhtang Asatashvili, Advisor of the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Georgia.
Bakuriani
Hotels in Bakuriani vary in prices and services. On average you need 300-350 GEL per day for all the activities that are associated with holidays in Bakuriani. Hotels cost 70-120 GEL per person per day, Skis are available at 25 GEL per day or 10 GEL per hour, you need to pay 100-150 GEL for a Buran (snowmobile) per hour and a trip by horse will cost you 50 GEL per hour.
Moreover, Hotels provide one day tours to Tabatskuri, the 4th largest lake in Georgia. The 5-6 hour tours are by Buran (snowmobile) and cost from 200 GEL to 200 USD per person.
The highest costs are usually in the first two weeks of January, after which the costs usually decrease. In most hotels children under the age of three are free of charge.
The hotel Crystal is the nearest hotel to the Didveli cable way. The hotel costs 140 USD per day for two. “The cost includes meals 3 times a day (Swedish table), a swimming pool, sauna and Wi-Fi. Moreover, the hotel offers some other services such as billiard rooms, a bar, children’s room, shop, chemist, conference room for 50 and other business services,” says Keti Kharadze, Managing Partner of Hotel Crystal.
The Hotel Lemani is located on the circle road near the so called 25 meter roll way. The price for a double room starts from 165 GEL, including meal, laundry and airport transfer. “As the hotel is new, we do not yet have a pool or billiard room, but plan to have them for the next year,” says Lasha Mebagishvili, owner of the hotel.
Hotel Vere Palace Bakuriani offers some additional services such as a disco bar, business centre, volley-ball square, table tennis fitness gym and three conference rooms.
Hotel Fagusi and Red House are family hotels mostly oriented on family comfort. “We have certain discounts for children, up to age three their stay is free of charge and between the ages of 3-8 we offer half price, which is approximately 30-35 USD,” says Gigla Makharashvili, the owner of Red House.
Gudauri
It costs less to holiday in Gudauri compared to Bakuriani. On average a person will need approximately 130-200 GEL per day in Gudauri. The price of hotels varies from 80-115 GEL per person. A day pass for the cable way is 25 GEL and a one-way ticket - 3 GEL.
The House of the Sun is a family hotel located in Gudauri 800 meters from the first cable way. The price per person is 45 USD, including meals two times a day and passes for the cable lift. Additional services include a bar and DVD room. “We provide skis only for our guests which cost 15 USD per day,” says Otar Pavlenishvili, the owner of the hotel “There are some individuals who have a Burani (snowmobile), however their use is not yet that widespread in Gudauri.”
The Shamo family hotel is 5 minutes away from the cable lift. A single room costs 115 GEL and Double room 150 GEL, the price includes catering two times a day and transport to the cable lift. Moreover, the hotel has some additional services such as a bar and billiard room. “We provide skis and horse rides that are counted as extra costs,” says Gela Burduli, General Manager of the hotel.
“The winter season starts on 20 December in both resorts, according to tradition in Bakuriani it lasts for three months and in Gudauri - four to five months. Demand for the winter season in both resorts peaks in January,” says Asatashvili. “The roads to both resorts have been renovated. It is not possible to predict avalanches in the areas however services and technology will soon be available in those places where there is the highest probability of avalanches.”
A week at a Georgian ski resort costs less for Georgians than it would in Europe. A weekend (or 3 nights) in Switzerland, one of the most popular destinations for wealthy ski lovers, costs about GEL 1,500.
Seven nights’ half board at the five-star Hotel Kulm is from GEL 5,000 per person, and seven nights’ B&B at Hotel Hauser is from GEL 3,000, including a return flight to Zurich and Swiss rail transfers.
Alpine Answers offers seven nights’ half-board at the three-star Hotel Cristal from GEL 1,500 per person from January 9, 2010, excluding flights and transfers.
Best deals offered by travel agencies
Travel agencies in Georgia offer tours to different destinations in Europe, Asia and Africa. The tours are adjustable and the starting price is 500 EUR per person, including air tickets and hotel accommodation.
Levon Travel LLC offers all kinds of tours to winter resorts, starting from around 500 EUR per person. “The price usually includes air tickets and hotel accommodation with breakfast; the tours are adjustable and always according to the client’s wish. At present, reservations are made to mostly all directions, including Egypt, Shengen Countries, Bulgarian winter resorts, Turkey and Asia. However the process is very slow,” says Mamuka Kelauradze, the Tourism Manager of Levon Travel LLC.
Intertour JSC considers Egypt and Dubai the most demanded places in winter for Georgians. The fixed cost for the tours is not estimated; prices usually vary and depend on the period and customer demand. In general packages include hotel, transfer, airline ticket and insurance.
“At present a New Year tour to Prague is the most popular, the full tour package starts from 665 EUR including hotel (with breakfast); air ticket; transfer; visa fee; two excursion in Prague; one excursion in South Bohemia; one excursion in Dresden; guide service; insurance. We have an exclusive price for Prague tours,” says Salome Kokosadze, Marketing Manager of Intertour JSC.
For the winter season International Tour Operator Ntour introduces tour packages to 10 different destinations. “The most demanded place is Egypt; the price of the 10 day tour begins at 585 USD per person, including all accommodation, meals, air tickets, medical insurance and all transport. The things that are excluded from the price are visa fees and excursions,” says Head of the Sales Department Maya Shavgulidze.
Ntour offers different tours to Dubai, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Italy and France. For a Beach and Luxury Holiday in Dubai, the 7-8 day package price begins from 800 USD per person.
The 10 day tours per person in Thailand begin from 998 EUR, Malaysia - 1,500 EUR, Singapore - 1,300 EUR, Indonesia - 1,400 EUR. One week tours to Israel start from 800 EUR, Italy - 895 EUR, and France - 890 EUR per person.
Intercontinental mostly focuses on tours to Egypt (Sharm EL Sheikh). The full package starts from 499 USD.
“Our company’s goal is to popularize Egyptian destinations for Georgian holidaymakers. As we have our own charter flight to Sharm El Sheikh we can provide special offers with very interesting prices for our travellers. We have prepared specially cheap tour packages for young people. The total cost of a full package starts from 499 USD. The tour includes: air tickets, accommodation in hotel will all-inclusive board, transfer from hotel to airport and medical travel insurance. Moreover, we offer different activities within the tour such as: diving, cultural tours, and sightseeing excursions to other cities in Egypt,” says Khatia Gabrichidze, Marketing Manager of InterContinental .
Intercontinental offers tours to the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and European countries such as the Czech Republic, France and the Netherlands.
source: finchannel.com
Written by Kate Chkhikvadze
The FINANCIAL -- On average 36,000 tourists will visit Gudauri and Bakuriani, famous winter resorts in Georgia, during the winter season 2009-2010, says the Department of Tourism.
Almost all hotel rooms in Bakuriani and Gudauri are already booked for the Christmas period. The majority of tourists who visited the ski resorts last year were Georgians. Bakuriani is popular among Georgians living in Russia whereas Gudauri is mostly visited by Ukrainian citizens.
Bakuriani is located on the northern slope of the Trialeti Range, at an elevation of 1,700 meters (5,576 feet) above sea level. Gudauri is a ski resort located on the southern slopes of The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in Georgia. The resort is situated in the Stepantsminda District, along the Georgian Military Highway near the Cross Pass, at an elevation of 2,196 meters (7,200 feet) above sea level. The trip from Tbilisi to Gudauri usually takes two hours by car. The ski season lasts from December to April. Heliskiing is also available throughout the season.
The department of Tourism and Resorts of Georgia is working on the improvement of quality in winter seasons.
“New units will be opened in Bakuriani and an additional ski route in the Didveli territory. We have entertainment and sports activities planned which will lead to an increased number of tourists. To raise public awareness we are planning to locate web-cameras in the winter resorts,” says Vakhtang Asatashvili, Advisor of the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Georgia.
Bakuriani
Hotels in Bakuriani vary in prices and services. On average you need 300-350 GEL per day for all the activities that are associated with holidays in Bakuriani. Hotels cost 70-120 GEL per person per day, Skis are available at 25 GEL per day or 10 GEL per hour, you need to pay 100-150 GEL for a Buran (snowmobile) per hour and a trip by horse will cost you 50 GEL per hour.
Moreover, Hotels provide one day tours to Tabatskuri, the 4th largest lake in Georgia. The 5-6 hour tours are by Buran (snowmobile) and cost from 200 GEL to 200 USD per person.
The highest costs are usually in the first two weeks of January, after which the costs usually decrease. In most hotels children under the age of three are free of charge.
The hotel Crystal is the nearest hotel to the Didveli cable way. The hotel costs 140 USD per day for two. “The cost includes meals 3 times a day (Swedish table), a swimming pool, sauna and Wi-Fi. Moreover, the hotel offers some other services such as billiard rooms, a bar, children’s room, shop, chemist, conference room for 50 and other business services,” says Keti Kharadze, Managing Partner of Hotel Crystal.
The Hotel Lemani is located on the circle road near the so called 25 meter roll way. The price for a double room starts from 165 GEL, including meal, laundry and airport transfer. “As the hotel is new, we do not yet have a pool or billiard room, but plan to have them for the next year,” says Lasha Mebagishvili, owner of the hotel.
Hotel Vere Palace Bakuriani offers some additional services such as a disco bar, business centre, volley-ball square, table tennis fitness gym and three conference rooms.
Hotel Fagusi and Red House are family hotels mostly oriented on family comfort. “We have certain discounts for children, up to age three their stay is free of charge and between the ages of 3-8 we offer half price, which is approximately 30-35 USD,” says Gigla Makharashvili, the owner of Red House.
Gudauri
It costs less to holiday in Gudauri compared to Bakuriani. On average a person will need approximately 130-200 GEL per day in Gudauri. The price of hotels varies from 80-115 GEL per person. A day pass for the cable way is 25 GEL and a one-way ticket - 3 GEL.
The House of the Sun is a family hotel located in Gudauri 800 meters from the first cable way. The price per person is 45 USD, including meals two times a day and passes for the cable lift. Additional services include a bar and DVD room. “We provide skis only for our guests which cost 15 USD per day,” says Otar Pavlenishvili, the owner of the hotel “There are some individuals who have a Burani (snowmobile), however their use is not yet that widespread in Gudauri.”
The Shamo family hotel is 5 minutes away from the cable lift. A single room costs 115 GEL and Double room 150 GEL, the price includes catering two times a day and transport to the cable lift. Moreover, the hotel has some additional services such as a bar and billiard room. “We provide skis and horse rides that are counted as extra costs,” says Gela Burduli, General Manager of the hotel.
“The winter season starts on 20 December in both resorts, according to tradition in Bakuriani it lasts for three months and in Gudauri - four to five months. Demand for the winter season in both resorts peaks in January,” says Asatashvili. “The roads to both resorts have been renovated. It is not possible to predict avalanches in the areas however services and technology will soon be available in those places where there is the highest probability of avalanches.”
A week at a Georgian ski resort costs less for Georgians than it would in Europe. A weekend (or 3 nights) in Switzerland, one of the most popular destinations for wealthy ski lovers, costs about GEL 1,500.
Seven nights’ half board at the five-star Hotel Kulm is from GEL 5,000 per person, and seven nights’ B&B at Hotel Hauser is from GEL 3,000, including a return flight to Zurich and Swiss rail transfers.
Alpine Answers offers seven nights’ half-board at the three-star Hotel Cristal from GEL 1,500 per person from January 9, 2010, excluding flights and transfers.
Best deals offered by travel agencies
Travel agencies in Georgia offer tours to different destinations in Europe, Asia and Africa. The tours are adjustable and the starting price is 500 EUR per person, including air tickets and hotel accommodation.
Levon Travel LLC offers all kinds of tours to winter resorts, starting from around 500 EUR per person. “The price usually includes air tickets and hotel accommodation with breakfast; the tours are adjustable and always according to the client’s wish. At present, reservations are made to mostly all directions, including Egypt, Shengen Countries, Bulgarian winter resorts, Turkey and Asia. However the process is very slow,” says Mamuka Kelauradze, the Tourism Manager of Levon Travel LLC.
Intertour JSC considers Egypt and Dubai the most demanded places in winter for Georgians. The fixed cost for the tours is not estimated; prices usually vary and depend on the period and customer demand. In general packages include hotel, transfer, airline ticket and insurance.
“At present a New Year tour to Prague is the most popular, the full tour package starts from 665 EUR including hotel (with breakfast); air ticket; transfer; visa fee; two excursion in Prague; one excursion in South Bohemia; one excursion in Dresden; guide service; insurance. We have an exclusive price for Prague tours,” says Salome Kokosadze, Marketing Manager of Intertour JSC.
For the winter season International Tour Operator Ntour introduces tour packages to 10 different destinations. “The most demanded place is Egypt; the price of the 10 day tour begins at 585 USD per person, including all accommodation, meals, air tickets, medical insurance and all transport. The things that are excluded from the price are visa fees and excursions,” says Head of the Sales Department Maya Shavgulidze.
Ntour offers different tours to Dubai, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Italy and France. For a Beach and Luxury Holiday in Dubai, the 7-8 day package price begins from 800 USD per person.
The 10 day tours per person in Thailand begin from 998 EUR, Malaysia - 1,500 EUR, Singapore - 1,300 EUR, Indonesia - 1,400 EUR. One week tours to Israel start from 800 EUR, Italy - 895 EUR, and France - 890 EUR per person.
Intercontinental mostly focuses on tours to Egypt (Sharm EL Sheikh). The full package starts from 499 USD.
“Our company’s goal is to popularize Egyptian destinations for Georgian holidaymakers. As we have our own charter flight to Sharm El Sheikh we can provide special offers with very interesting prices for our travellers. We have prepared specially cheap tour packages for young people. The total cost of a full package starts from 499 USD. The tour includes: air tickets, accommodation in hotel will all-inclusive board, transfer from hotel to airport and medical travel insurance. Moreover, we offer different activities within the tour such as: diving, cultural tours, and sightseeing excursions to other cities in Egypt,” says Khatia Gabrichidze, Marketing Manager of InterContinental .
Intercontinental offers tours to the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and European countries such as the Czech Republic, France and the Netherlands.
source: finchannel.com
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Diashow >>>Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
TRAVEL: Skiing in Georgia: Bakuriani and Gudauri - Europe’s best kept secret
By Tamar Khurtsia
Georgian Business Week, March 3: While world’s various ski slopes are already running on snow and ice, local and foreign holidaymakers keep flocking to Georgia’s Gudauri and Bakuriani resorts. It takes about two hours to reach either from the capital, Tbilisi.
In January, when the season was in full swing, 9,000 tourists visited the two resorts combined, meaning that Bakuriani saw 40% more visitors than at that time last year and Gudauri saw 30% more, according to the Department of Statistics. Sopho Mdinaradze, 23, an amateur skier, says Gudauri and Bakuriani “are paradise” for ski-lovers. “Last weekend the weather was excellent and all three chairlifts worked in Gudauri. It was great!”
Georgian Business Week, March 3: While world’s various ski slopes are already running on snow and ice, local and foreign holidaymakers keep flocking to Georgia’s Gudauri and Bakuriani resorts. It takes about two hours to reach either from the capital, Tbilisi.
In January, when the season was in full swing, 9,000 tourists visited the two resorts combined, meaning that Bakuriani saw 40% more visitors than at that time last year and Gudauri saw 30% more, according to the Department of Statistics. Sopho Mdinaradze, 23, an amateur skier, says Gudauri and Bakuriani “are paradise” for ski-lovers. “Last weekend the weather was excellent and all three chairlifts worked in Gudauri. It was great!”
Gudauri on March 4, 2008 by Dato Rostomashvili
Gudauri in the Greater Caucasus and Bakuriani in the Lesser Caucasus are valuable resorts for Georgia’s tourism industry. During Soviet times Bakuriani was a very popular winter destination, hosting Soviet competitions. Situated 29 km from Borjomi on the northern slope of the Trialeti Range, Bakuriani is 1,700-2,000 metres above sea level. Here a blanket of snow covers the slopes for 4-5 months. However, the resort remains attractive in summer as well, due to its wonderful nature and curative climate. Doctors treating tuberculosis and lung disease sufferers frequently advise them to holiday in Bakuriani, as it is covered with coniferous trees, particularly spruce. “Often it [Bakuriani] gives a better effect than costly medicines,” says therapeutist Tamar Badridze.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union Gudauri has also emerged to compete with Bakuriani. It is located in the Stepantsminda District, along the Georgian Military Highway near the Cross Pass, 2,196 metres above sea level. For experienced skiers Gudauri provides slalom, giant slalom, super g, speed skiing and heliskiing - one of its most impressive offerings.
Presently both Bakurani and Gudauri are rapidly developing sites with mushrooming lifts and hotels. In Gudauri the first, lower lift station is 1,990 metres above sea level and the top station, called Kudebi (“Tails”) is at 3,007 metres. At Bakuriani, the highest point used for skiing is Mount Kokhta (“Smart”), around 2,200 metres above sea level. Eleven ski runs are currently in use in Bakuriani, together with ropeways, ski-jumps, ski-tracks, cross-country skiing courses, horse-riding facilities and snowmobiles. An average price for renting skis is 5 GEL per hour.
“Gudauri and Bakuriani are terrific, but foreign people have little or no information about them, compared to European resorts,” Sopho says. Statistics appear to confirm this. This year, the Department of Statistics says, only 3% of visitors to Bakuriani came from outside Georgia. 28% of these were Russian, 24% Latvian, another 24% Armenian, 18% from Great Britain and 6% came from Ukraine. “We try to attract foreign tourists to Bakuriani and Gudauri and are developing a promotional campaign. As a result we had many tourists from Great Britain this year,” commented Beka Jakheli, the head of Tourism Department.
The statistics show another interesting tendency. The overwhelming majority of holidaymakers - 97% - organised their stay at Bakuriani or Gudauri on their own. Only 3% asked for help from travel agencies. This choice, they explain, gains them more affordable prices and more importantly, more assurance of finding a proper place to stay. “Last year my friends and I reserved rooms through a Tbilisi-based travel agency and you know what happened? - When we arrived we found the hotel closed. It was only due to open two days later. It was New Year’s Eve and we were just lucky enough to find a home on our own. No hotel room was available,” Nino, 29, complained. But the mix-up led Nino and her companions to pay less for their cheery time in the resort since prices in Bakuriani start from 90 USD for a hotel room, while at family hotels one can find a bedroom for 30 GEL.
However, Nino then had to undergo the discomfort of “handling the travel agency guys” to claim her money back. “I will never trust travel agencies, at least until I forget this incident,” she says. But concerning conditions in the resort, she notes “things are getting better. Every year things are improving in Bakuriani but still there are no entertainment centres, clubs, bars, cafes, fast food outlets and others.” Most visitors seem to agree with her. A survey conducted by the Tourism Department suggests that 55% of the tourists want to see improved fast food service and quality. 17% want better infrastructure and apartments.
“The survey showed many aspects to which we have to pay particular attention for next season. We believe Georgia’s winter resorts will meet European standards and attract more foreigners,” Jakheli says.
Skiing in the Caucasus / View as slideshow >>>
Monday, March 03, 2008
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Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Monday, February 26, 2007
GEORGIEN: Wintersportler entdecken die kaukasischen Pisten
Abgesetzt in der weißen Einsamkeit
Kein Parkplatz, kein Skiverleih - noch hat man die Bergwelt fast für sich allein. Doch schon bald soll hier ein großer Skizirkus entstehen.
Von Christoph Schrahe (Hamburger Abendblatt)
Den Willen zum Gipfelsieg ins Gesicht geschrieben, die Füße in Skistiefeln und einen großen Rucksack auf den Schultern. So marschiert die Dame an den anderen vorbei. Im Basislager unterhalb des legendären Kasbek, an dessen eisüberzogener Wand der griechischen Sage zufolge einst Prometheus für seinen Frevel, den Menschen Feuer gebracht zu haben, büßen musste, ein alltäglicher Auftritt. Im Terminal 2 des Münchner Flughafens, wo Geschäftsleute darauf warten, das Flugzeug nach Tiflis zu besteigen, wirkt die Montur eher bizarr. Auch auf jene, die wissen, was die georgischen Berge Skifahrern zu bieten haben - aber von denen gibt es nicht viele.
Mehr: http://www.abendblatt.de/daten/2007/02/10/686334.html
Eine Woche Heliski ab 2800 Euro vom 10. Februar 2007 (Freizeit & Reise)
Kein Parkplatz, kein Skiverleih - noch hat man die Bergwelt fast für sich allein. Doch schon bald soll hier ein großer Skizirkus entstehen.
Von Christoph Schrahe (Hamburger Abendblatt)
Den Willen zum Gipfelsieg ins Gesicht geschrieben, die Füße in Skistiefeln und einen großen Rucksack auf den Schultern. So marschiert die Dame an den anderen vorbei. Im Basislager unterhalb des legendären Kasbek, an dessen eisüberzogener Wand der griechischen Sage zufolge einst Prometheus für seinen Frevel, den Menschen Feuer gebracht zu haben, büßen musste, ein alltäglicher Auftritt. Im Terminal 2 des Münchner Flughafens, wo Geschäftsleute darauf warten, das Flugzeug nach Tiflis zu besteigen, wirkt die Montur eher bizarr. Auch auf jene, die wissen, was die georgischen Berge Skifahrern zu bieten haben - aber von denen gibt es nicht viele.
Mehr: http://www.abendblatt.de/daten/2007/02/10/686334.html
Eine Woche Heliski ab 2800 Euro vom 10. Februar 2007 (Freizeit & Reise)
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Snow in Gudauri (Greater Caucasus)
Photos by Vladimer Shioshvili See more photos, or visit his profile.Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Georgien bewirbt sich für die Olympischen Winterspiele 2014 als Ausrichter / Georgia Bids to Host 2014 Winter Olympics
Georgien ist bemüht, sich für die Olympischen Winterspiele 2014 zu bewerben. Das finde ich großartig, da der Region dadurch eine entsprechende Aufmerksamkeit zukommt. Dabei denke ich zudem an die Schneesicherheit nicht nur im Großen Kaukasus, sondern auch im Kleinen Kaukasus. Das im Kleinen Kaukasus liegende Bakuriani - ein legendäres Ski-, Tourismus- und Sportgebiet nicht nur in Sowjet-Zeiten - bedarf ja auch einer "Aufrüstung". Die Georgier selbst, sind ja gerade für ihre Gastfreundschaft berühmt. Damit könnten sie dann auch die Olympioniken beeindrucken, damit das kaukasische Land einen bleibenden Eindruck hinterläßt.
Borjomi das eng verbunden ist mit Bakuriani soll dann der Hauptort der Winterspiele sein. Berühmt über die Landesgrenzen hinaus ist das Borjomi-Wasser, dass nicht nur in den Capitalen Russlands getrunken wurde.
Grafik von: www.kaukasus-reisen.de
(Bakuriani, one of the popular skiing resorts in Georgia is situated in the Minor Caucasian Mountains, southeast part of Georgia at an altitude of 1800m. Bakuriani provides good downhill and cross-country skiing areas for skiers of all abilities. The resort offers comfortable accommodation facilities from 3 star hotels to small private hotels and guesthouses. )
Gudauri - im Großen Kaukasus liegend - hat atemberaubenden Pisten, die hierzulande kaum einer kennt. Wenn man dann abends noch an einer "Kartuli Supra" (Georgischen Tafel) sitzt, dann können solche wilden Tage in den Bergen, leicht einen österreichischen Skimassentourismus in den Schatten stellen. Also, bis 2014 ist ja noch Zeit ... den Georgiern traue ich das zu. Saakashvili hat unterzeichnet - jetzt geht das ganze wohl zum NOK ...
Read more in civil.ge: "Georgia Bids to Host 2014 Winter Olympics "
Read more in mosnews.com: "Georgia Wants to Host 2014 Winter Olympics"
Georgien ist bemüht, sich für die Olympischen Winterspiele 2014 zu bewerben. Das finde ich großartig, da der Region dadurch eine entsprechende Aufmerksamkeit zukommt. Dabei denke ich zudem an die Schneesicherheit nicht nur im Großen Kaukasus, sondern auch im Kleinen Kaukasus. Das im Kleinen Kaukasus liegende Bakuriani - ein legendäres Ski-, Tourismus- und Sportgebiet nicht nur in Sowjet-Zeiten - bedarf ja auch einer "Aufrüstung". Die Georgier selbst, sind ja gerade für ihre Gastfreundschaft berühmt. Damit könnten sie dann auch die Olympioniken beeindrucken, damit das kaukasische Land einen bleibenden Eindruck hinterläßt.
Borjomi das eng verbunden ist mit Bakuriani soll dann der Hauptort der Winterspiele sein. Berühmt über die Landesgrenzen hinaus ist das Borjomi-Wasser, dass nicht nur in den Capitalen Russlands getrunken wurde.
Grafik von: www.kaukasus-reisen.de
(Bakuriani, one of the popular skiing resorts in Georgia is situated in the Minor Caucasian Mountains, southeast part of Georgia at an altitude of 1800m. Bakuriani provides good downhill and cross-country skiing areas for skiers of all abilities. The resort offers comfortable accommodation facilities from 3 star hotels to small private hotels and guesthouses. )
Gudauri - im Großen Kaukasus liegend - hat atemberaubenden Pisten, die hierzulande kaum einer kennt. Wenn man dann abends noch an einer "Kartuli Supra" (Georgischen Tafel) sitzt, dann können solche wilden Tage in den Bergen, leicht einen österreichischen Skimassentourismus in den Schatten stellen. Also, bis 2014 ist ja noch Zeit ... den Georgiern traue ich das zu. Saakashvili hat unterzeichnet - jetzt geht das ganze wohl zum NOK ...
Read more in civil.ge: "Georgia Bids to Host 2014 Winter Olympics "
Read more in mosnews.com: "Georgia Wants to Host 2014 Winter Olympics"
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