SUPPORT OF LOCAL ADMINISTRATION OF MEGREL AND RACHY REGIONS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OBJECTIVES OF REGIONAL TOURISM PROMOTION POLICY. EXCHANGE OF EXPERIENCES WITH THE IMERETI REGION.

IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD: 2016-2017
STATUS: completed
SOURCE OF FINANCING: the Polish Aid development cooperation program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland
CO-FINANCING AMOUNT: PLN 500 800.00 (total project cost: PLN 571 120)
PROJECT PARTNERS: ProMotion Georgia, local administrations: Government of
Oni Municipality, Government of Martvili Municipality, City Hall of Kutaisi Municipality.

A two-year project implemented in 2016-2017, which directly continued the activities of the ICAD Foundation from 2014 and 2015. The innovative activity of the project focused on supporting the administration of Rachy and Megrelia in implementing the policy of developing local tourism. Cooperation with the city of Kutaisi was also continued, which shared acquired knowledge and experience in this field with other regions.As part of the project, training activating youth in the regions was carried out and an interregional exchange was carried out for people interested in working in tourism.Training was also conducted for owners of rural households related to the creation of accommodation bases and the promotion of local products. Two walking and horse hiking paths were marked and marked: the Martvili mountain trail and the Oni mountain trail. Numerous promotional and advertising activities were also undertaken, including the creation of Facebook pages for the Oni and Martvili districts as well as gathering materials regarding the Megrelia and Racha regions. Websites promoting the Mergreli regions (www.visitmartvili.com) and Rachy (www.visitoni.com) were designed and launched and the website of the city of Kutaisi (www.visitkutaisi.com) was updated. A guide promoting the western regions of Georgia in Poland (Warsaw, Krakow, Poznań, Czarnków) and Georgia (Kutaisi, Oni, Martvili) was designed, printed and distributed, as well as during the World Travel Show. The project also built an information database for potential investors, containing necessary information and advice on regions. A summary of the ICAD Foundation’s activities was the conference crowning the two-year project, which took place in Kutaisi; took part in it, among others representatives of local administrations, the Office of the Governor of Imereti, the National Tourism Administration of Georgia, representatives of the tourism industry, employees of local tourism departments, regional project assistants, experts and specialists employed in the project, and media representatives.