The Georgian government continues to concentrate efforts on developing the tourist potential of the country. President Saakashvili’s team deems tourism to be the top priority in the country’s economic development and pays a great deal of attention to restoring existing tourist attractions and creating new centers for tourism. Special importance is attributed to winter resorts, as the summer Black Sea resorts can’t compete with the Mediterranean resorts of neighboring Turkey, due to weather conditions.
Georgia’s advantage over other tourist centers of the region is the potential for high-mountain ski resorts that can function almost all year round. For example, in Swaneti the snow lies 11 months of the year, and in summer it would take one only 2 hours to get from there to the warm seashore of Anaklia.
The major ski resort of Georgia is Bakuriani. It was even one of the Olympic candidates in 1989, although after the end of the USSR this particular ski resort was forgotten.
Another ideal spot for downhill skiing is Gudauri, located in the north-east of the country. It was first opened to visitors in 1984. The resort was very popular at the time, but it later fell into decay and was almost abandoned.
A solution to this situation was found when, following an amendment to the law on mayoral jurisdiction, the mayor of Tbilisi took control over this skiing complex. This decision was only logical, as 70% of those who come to Gudauri reside in Tbilisi, while Mayor Giorgi Ugulava proved to be an efficient manager for infrastructure-related projects. It is also rumored that President Saakashvili regards Mr Ugulava as his possible successor.
In six months Ugulave achieved a lot, even though the task he’s facing is vast: he virtually has to re-build the resort. The Canadian company ‘Ecosign’ helped create the general restoration plan. For now, alpine ski runs have been prolonged from 21 km to 57 km, promoting Gudauri to the fourth category out of five according to international standards. The 2.5 km funicular railway is also the longest in the South Caucasus. Considerable infrastructural modernization has also been achieved. Two new hotels are being constructed, and another four are in the pipeline.
As a result, for the first time in the resort’s history the International Federation of Ski Sports decided to hold the inter-continental Cup for snowboarding in Gudauri. According to Mr Ugulave, Guduari now corresponds to all international standards and isn’t inferior to any of the world-famous resorts. It is possible that Gudauri will give Georgia the opportunity once again to compete for the Olympics.
By Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi, exclusively to VK
