TBILISI Georgia s capital and the largest city in the country, Tbilisi offers visitors an original blend of East and West. Set deep in the Mtkvari River valley, the city boasts picturesque architecture, a lively arts and cultural scene, and the famously welcoming Georgian lifestyle, making it a fascinating travel destination. The number of multinational companies operating South Caucasus and CIS headquarters in Tbilisi is increasing steadily, which ensures Tbilisi s position as a regional business hub. The city benefits from growing international, regional and local visitors. Over the last 5 years, hotel annual occupancy rates in Tbilisi have been around 70%. Today, the international upscale segment consists of the Tbilisi Marriott, the Radisson Blu Iveria, and the Biltmore hotel. Together, these hotels provide 7% of the city s total room supply. Nine more international upscale brands such as Radisson Blu Telegraph, Autograph Collection, and the Pullman Hotels & Resort are expected to open during the next few years, adding 1,741 hotel rooms to the capital s stock. International midscale hotels provide 13% of the city s hotel room supply. Eight hotels are expected to open in this segment during the next three years, including the Park Inn hotel, the Golden Tulip, and Hilton Garden Inn. Together, they will add 1,133 rooms to the supply. International upscale brands enjoyed the highest hotel occupancy rate of 72% in 2017, followed by local mid and upscale, and international midscale brands with occupancy rates of 69% and 68%, respectively. As low budget travelers preferred to stay at hostels or in Airbnb rentals, the occupancy rate in the economy/budget segment declined by 4%. w w w. e n t e r p r i s e. g o v. g e
MICE Facilities MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions) tourism is an important sector for hospitality industry and is an opportunity for Georgia to transform itself to a year-round destination. Convention and Exhibition Bureau of Georgia offers customers, national and overseas, a place where they can obtain honest and impartial advice for prospective MICE events in the country. On average, 5-7% of hotel guests in Georgia are MICE tourists. The vast majority of events are held in Tbilisi. The largest and one of the most significant event in 2017 was Tbilisi Belt & Road Forum, hosting about 2,000 delegates from more than 60 countries. In 2017 Tbilisi received roughly 500,000 delegates who participated in various conferences and meeting. Substantial supply of high-end internationally branded hotels, safe environment, visa free travel with 98 countries, direct flights to more than 30 countries, cultural and geographical diversity and a vast number of attractions create favorable environment for attracting international business visitors. In addition, the economic initiatives and incentives that the Georgian government has introduced to attract more international clients to the country are significant in the development of the MICE market. The liberal economy, attractive business environment, free industrial zones, improved quality of public services, lack of corruption and recent investments in tourism infrastructure make Georgia a good place to invest. Over the past few years, the supply of conference facilities has been growing both in Tbilisi and in Batumi. The capital holds 48% of Georgia s total supply of conference and meeting facilities, with an overall capacity to host about 7,500 delegates. Batumi s conference facilities can accommodate 5,600 guests. The rest of the MICE facilities are located in other regions of the country with the capacity of 2,600 guests. The supply growth can mostly be attributed to an increasing number of internationally branded hotels in Tbilisi and Batumi. The opening of the Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi in 2016 has increased the city s stock by two conference halls able to host about 850 delegates. \During the next four years sixteen new internationally-branded hotels are expected to open in Tbilisi, with a conference/meeting facilities able to accommodate 10,830 guests. Georgia has the high potential to become a top MICE destination for CIS, middle east and Central Asian countries.
ENITED research and Convention Center investment quantum Current gap There is currently no modern, state-of-the-art and functional business event space (Convention Centre) available in Georgia, for complex and/or larger-size international business events with a capacity for 1.000 or more people, also no exhibition space for large scale events. The European meetings that average above 1,000 people / per meeting, represent about 7% of the business events market in Europe (by number of meeting held). In accordance with the Business Events strategy of Georgia, to maximize profits such type of a center should start operations by 2021-2022. Convention center development in Tbilisi According to ENITED research, convention center in Tbilisi should be concentrated on the following market priorities to attract potential buyers:» Geographical regions» Business events formats» Industries/Sectors Incentives events & corporate meetings from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Germany, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Kuwait. All of the above-mentioned countries are of interest, given the flight connections, the broad range of potential incentive products & experiences in combination with a rather low price profile, and in some cases a more liberal view of consumption of food & beverage compared to their home countries. Furthermore, corporate meetings tend to take place where a company has a (future) market or production interest. Additional business could be realized from Austria, the Baltic States, Czech Republic, Greece, Qatar, Iran, Bahrain,India and Poland Given that more than 50% of the world s international organization (association) headquarters are located within Europe, the natural choice is, of course, to focus on those European HQ- Cities namely Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Geneva and Vienna, with Dubai as an additional, future HQ-city. Association meetings are mainly focusing on connectivity, good (meeting) infrastructure and price, and in what way the host country can boost the knowledge content of their meetings. A major part of the associations are also demanding an active role played by national societies, individuals and/or governmental entities.
State owned property for Convention center development The government of Georgia is ready to transfer 10 ha of land plot in the capital city of Georgia to develop Convention Center. The object will be located in an easy access area, with all infrastructure, close proximity from Tbilisi International Airport, which provides possibilities alongside with convention center to develop an Airport hotel as well. Potential project should be suitable for allocation at least 1000 people, with minimum 10 meeting rooms and open area. Sample of Convention Center - Las Vegas Convention Center Expansion & Renovation
Air Travel to and from Tbilisi There are 45 airlines operating in Georgian market offering passengers around 50 destinations. The major airlines offering flights to Tbilisi airport includes Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, Flydubai, and Qatar Airways. The list of airlines operating in Batumi airport include Turkish Airlines, Georgian Airways, Belavia, and Air Arabia. Ones operating in Kutaisi airport include Wizz Air Hungary and Ukraine International. Wizz Air is the leading low-cost carrier in Georgia. It currently offers routes to 11 countries and more connections to major European cities are on the way in 2018. Direct flights to Barcelona, Paris, Rome and Prague will be launched in May 2018. In addition, Flydubai added Kutaisi as its new seasonal destination. The airline will also increase the number of flights to Batumi airport from 4 to 7 per week. Pegasus also increased the frequency of its flights to and from Tbilisi airport from 7 to 9 per week. Affordable travel opportunities from European cities will boost inbound tourism even further. Aktau Bratislava Kazan Kharkov London Bahrein Kiev Almaty Doha Athens Dnepropetrovsk Astana Kuwait Amsterdam Rostov Batumi Paris Beijing Prague Dubai Sharm El-Sheikh Beirut Tehran Wizz Air Tel-Aviv Vienna Warsaw Istanbul Riga Amman Brussels Berlin Baku Cologne Ekaterinburg Minsk Novosibirsk St Petersbourg Ural Airlines Urumqi Muscat Bologna Antalya Yerevan Barcelona Hurgada Thessaloniki Moscow Sharjah Fly Dubai Munich SochiW Odessa
MAIN FLIGHT ROUTES & DISTANCES FROM TBILISI Origin Destination Flight Duration (minutes) Tbilisi Baku 70 min. Tbilisi Tehran 100 min. Tbilisi Istanbul 150 min. Tbilisi Tel Aviv 150 min. Tbilisi Kiev 160 min. Tbilisi Moscow 160 min. Tbilisi Athens 180 min. Tbilisi Minsk 180 min. Tbilisi Dubai 200 min. Tbilisi Warsaw 225 min. Tbilisi Riga 210 min. Tbilisi Saint Petersburg 195 min. Tbilisi Vienna 215 min. Tbilisi Prague 220 min. Tbilisi Almaty 220 min. Tbilisi Munich 250 min. Tbilisi Amsterdam 310 min. Tbilisi Urumqi 285 min. Tbilisi London 315 min. Tbilisi Brussels 210 min. Tbilisi Vienna 215 min. Source: Colliers International TAV Georgia-Tbilisi International Airport Consulting Company ENITED