Georgian mountain tourism business

Otar Japaridze

Journal number 4 ∘ Otar Japaridze ∘
Georgian mountain tourism business

Annotation. Based on the relevancy of general development of the tourism business, the presented work sets a goal of identifying the needs and problems of separate directions of mountain tourism – one of the most demanded sector of tourism, as well as determination of specific problem situations we face at tourist places, which are best of all seen exactly from within.

The work discusses the trends of development of the mountain tourism, the best examples of different countries and the ongoing processes in Georgia in relation to mountain tourism. The role of tourism in the economic development of mountainous regions and the return migration is also discussed in this work. However, at the same time, it shows the threats it faced in relation to local culture, social identity, traditional economy and ecology. The work also shows the importance of cluster development of the sector as an innovative approach that helps the development of different directions in the regions and the impact of global or local crises on the development of mountain tourism.

Study carried out with the purpose of pursuing the work objectives establishes a goal of elaboration of recommendations based on the obtained results aimed to improvement of tourism potential of mountainous regions, business potential of mountain tourism and continuous sustainable development of this direction.

Qualitative study has been conducted, which was intended for identification of weighty opinions of official or unofficial parties interested in mountain tourism in regard to mountain tourism problems and possible prospects of development.

Quantitative study, namely online long-distance questioning survey was arranged, which was aimed to quantitative assessment of opinions of travellers and local mountain guides and their reflection in percentage terms, in regard to challenges facing mountain tourism and prospects of this direction.

The conducted study has led us to very interesting outcomes, so - recommendations elaborated based on the research outcomes, which will promote travel business development, are represented in the work, as well.

Key words: tourism, mountain tourism, sustainable development, ecotourism.

Introduction

The natural, geographical and cultural possibilities of our country are maximally mobilized to meet the interests of tourists. Accordingly, there are different types of tours from among the tourist trips - which serve to meet the most varied interests of tourists.

The share of our country’s tourism potential can be said to comes largely from the promotion and popularization of the high mountain tourism business, because the types of mountain tourism are interesting and attractive not only for those who are fond of adventure tours, but it can meet the needs of tourists with almost all types of interests. (Diasamidze M. 2015) But due to the lack of detailed studies and statistics tailored directly to mountain tourism and the interests of people who are fond of travelling in the mountains - it is natural that specific problems cannot be considered - taking into account the views and interests of both external and internal tourists in the planning of measures to promote mountain tourism. (UNWTO. 2018)

Identifying the challenges and requirements facing tourism and then solving them - first of all, is a priority of the country, and then of the tourism business - without jeopardizing the authenticity of the cultural heritage of the country, thus - the sustainable development of tourism. (UNWTO. 2023)

That is why the purpose of this work is to promote the development of mountain tourism business in Georgia - based on the combination of the latest scientific literature of the field and empirically obtained data - specially selected and processed, which will give us the opportunity to identify and plan the necessary measures for the development of mountain tourism, how to develop and use the tourism potential of the mountain and, hereby, the business, without jeopardizing the concept of sustainable development of tourism.

Body text

Theoretical Foundation

More than 65% of Georgia’s relief is mountainous, which in turn makes it one of the attractive countries in the world tourism market. According to the statistics of the World Tourism Organization, mountain tourism has about 20% of global tourism and plays a major role in the development of the tourism industry. (Khakhishvili, T. 2021) The mountain is one of the great assets for the tourism industry all over the world. Its natural resources attract a wide variety of visitors. Which in turn makes it one of the best tourist destinations. It plays a major role in GDP growth and job creation. (Liyun, Z., Rita Yi, M., Jotikasthira, N., Jinkun , S., & Yunyi, M. 2022)

At the same time, it often becomes vulnerable to such factors as environmental impact, socio-economic and cultural factors. (M. Metreveli, 2012) The mountain environment is very sensitive to such interventions and often contains threats. That is why the development of tourism in the mountains should take place by taking care of the existing one and taking into account the economic vision of the country in the overall strategy. (Nepal, S. 2002) This ensures the development of tourism not only at the expense of tourists, but also through the development of specific tourist infrastructure. Which in turn will be related to the minimization of harmful ecological and socio-cultural impact. (Liyun, Z., Rita Yi, M., Jotikasthira, N., Jinkun , S., & Yunyi, M. 2022)

The religious, gastronomic and cultural traditions in the mountain, its authentic relief diversity and peculiarities attract tourists with different interests and preferences, and only in this way, the mountain tourism is highly sustainable and profitable. (WTO. 2004)

However, it should be taken into account that the increase in the popularity of mountain tourism can harm the natural environment, because tourism companies, depending on the increase of their income, overload specific destinations, and the competitive market itself cannot distribute resources.In order to reduce these negative factors, it is necessary to coordinate the state and the private sector, it will contribute to the sustainable development of the mountain tourism. (UNICEF Georgia.)

The modernisation of mountain tourism has become more relevant in view of the pandemic and post-pandemic - because the post-pandemic period has radically changed the existing requirements for the tourism business and has put this field to face new, contemporary challenges. This applies to the tourism business in the mountainous regions as well, because the pandemic has become a hindrance for mountain regions on the one hand, and a great opportunity on the other hand, as post-pandemic tourism has become more focused on distancing, fresh air, travelling in nature, etc. (Naciye, G. U., & Akbiyik, A. 2020) That is why the search for mountain tourism is relevant and that is why mountain tourism had begun to recover much earlier than other destinations.

Research Method

The research methodology planned to achieve the aim of the work was defined as follows:

Main hypothesis: Unlike other tourist destinations, the greater “sustainability” of mountain tourism is due to the natural/authentic environment of mountain regions and the naturally existing variety of resting/leisure activities - not the infrastructural development of mountain regions according to modern standards;

Sub-hypothesis: Accordingly, the main obstacle to maintaining the sustainability of the business potential of mountain tourism is the chaotic development in the mountainous regions developed for tourism - which threatens the main motivators for tourists to rest in the mountains - the authenticity of the regions, cultural-historical-gastronomic heritage, traditional mountain tourist attractions - which will gradually reduce the tourist interests of the mountainous regions.

Purpose of the study

The purpose of the study is to determine the business potential of the mountainous regions of Georgia, to identify its development trends and perspectives.

Study tasks

Analysing the world experience and determining the possibility of its implementation/adaptation in the reality of Georgia;
Determining the current crises in the world and identifying ways to avoid them or mitigate their negative effects;
In the direction of sustainable development, study of the existing situation in mountainous regions and evaluation of the effectiveness of the processes;
Evaluation and determination of the effectiveness of the measures taken at both the regional and centralized governance levels;
Identification of factors facilitating and hindering the development of mountain tourism - identification of the challenges and opportunities that mountain tourism has in modern reality and the subjects participating therein (comparison of regions).
Identification of specific needs and problems of individual mountain tourism destinations - according to specific regions and different tourist profiles. also taking into account the post-crisis needs;
Determination of profiles of mountain tourists and identification of their behavioural characteristics - visualization of motivators and demotivators of walking in the mountains;

Selected study methods

Qualitative study : Department of Tourism, travel companies, tourism experts, local mountain guides and hotel representatives, international and local travellers; (A total of 30 people were interviewed)

Quantitative research: International and local travellers, local mountain guides; (A total of 700 people were interviewed: 500 Georgians; 200 Foreigners)

Analysis and Results

When analysing the world’s best practices, the respondents emphasize such factors that are already well implemented in the world tourism standards - the presence of certified mountain guides, construction of mountain huts, constant updating of hiking and trekking trails and marking with modern standards, the existence of modern safety systems and rescue equipment - which we see in Georgia as a true ideal, although it does not have a systematic and organized character - which hinders the development of Georgian mountain tourism using modern standards, because the safety of tourists depends on it, as well as the provision of high-quality services to them and the preservation of the authenticity of the environment.

Speaking about the international experience of mountain tourism, the respondents participating in the study put special emphasis on the model of such countries as Switzerland, France, Austria, Italy- whose resort arrangement is focused on the principles of regional management and with this structure can be well adapted to the possibilities of tourism development in the regions of Georgia. The examples of Bhutan and Andorra were also emphasized.

To the respondent’s opinion, against the background of various crises in the world today - such as the post-pandemic period, war in the region, economic instability - one of the main challenges in Georgia is that there is no mountain tourism development strategy in the state - therefore, there is no effective regulation from the state, which would contribute to the smooth development of mountain tourism in Georgia in the context of global crises.

Also, the low qualification of the people working in the sector and the malfunctioning of the mining and rescue services, are called important challenges, ignoring the principles of sustainable development, breaking the authenticity of the environment. The necessity of market diversification was highlighted, in order to attract high-budget tourists.

With regard to the sustainable development of the country, the respondents emphasized the economic benefits that are currently obtained from tourism in the regions and in which the participation of the local population is significantly high. It should be noted that in those regions of Georgia, where tourism is more or less developed (Svaneti and Kazbegi regions), there is a remigration of young people and local employment - many abandoned villages have been settled again and we are facing a fairly high rate of return migration. However, we have such problems as low of population awareness, enforcement of laws, high development in tourist centers.

The respondents conversed about the efficiency of measures carried out by the government and noted that for the development of mountain resorts both the planning of development of resort areas and the search for investors are in progress. Marking and development of the construction design of walking/hiking trails is in an active phase. The inclusion of the local population in the development of mountain tourism and the raising of their awareness in this regard through various trainings are mentioned to be an event that has great importance.

When speaking about the hindering and facilitating factors of tourism, first of all, the respondents pointed out the lack of monitoring of the implementation of legal requirements and also the absence of statistics on the correct loading of tourist regions.

The reason for underdevelopment of tourism in a specific region is primarily the smallness of the local population, which is accompanied/or caused by infrastructural deficiencies: Roads, schools, outpatient clinics, electricity and other engineering communications - which in itself is an obstacle for tourism and, therefore, for the development of the region. Solving of the mentioned problems will also solve the issue of easy access to these regions.

Among the factors necessary for the development of mountain tourism in the regions, the respondents of the study mention the need to develop those attractions that have the potential of a given region and are demanded by tourists.

Among the necessary needs for the development of tourist attractions, the appropriate tourist infrastructure, service personnel/guides with the necessary qualifications and, of course, the inventory specific to the attraction - to ensure security, are mentioned first.

The respondents olso consider the possibility of developing eco and ethno tourism as having potential. The results of the quantitative research conducted to determine the tourist profiles, their attitudes, requirements, reasons for satisfaction-dissatisfaction and behavioural preferences are as follows: On the question „What does mountain tourism mean to you“, the answers are interestingly different according to Georgian and foreign tourists: (Graph 1)

As we can see, unlike Georgians, foreign tourists in mountain tourism include cultural tourism and gastro tourism in addition to traditional mountain tourism fields.

We find interesting answers to the question: “What are the main problems you face when dealing with mountain tourism”? (Graph 2)

As we can see, while the main problems of mountain tourism for Georgian tourists are the non-compliance with safety standards and underdeveloped infrastructure, foreign travellers emphasize mass tourism, the loss of authenticity of the environment and the ignorance of the local population in the principles of tourism.

The respondents were also asked, what threats they saw in mass tourism (Graph 3)

As we can see in the graph, Georgian and foreign travellers have very different perceptions here - 32% + 17% of Georgians perceive mass tourism as a positive factor and do not expect any threat from it, only 20% of them associate mass tourism with uncontrolled constructions. Contrary to this, foreign tourists (69%) see serious threats of destroying the authenticity of nature in mass tourism and also note that it will inevitably lead to a drop in the quality of services.

The study also identified the most popular tourist places for Georgian and foreign tourists (Graph 4).

It is noteworthy that Racha, Svaneti, Khevi and mountainous Imereti are leading among the most popular regions for Georgian travellers. And for foreign tourists - Tusheti, Svaneti and Khevsureti.

The answers to the following question identify the reasons for such choice (Graph 5),

Both foreign and Georgian tourists are motivated to visit the region by its natural and at the same time authentic environment. However, there are also different answers - according to which foreign tourists are particularly attracted by the gastronomic features of the chosen region, while the choice of Georgian travellers is largely determined by having their own home in a specific region (which, of course, was not unexpected). The following question of the study was about popular mountain destinations for Georgian and foreign tourists. (Graph 6)

As we can see, here too we have a different picture from the point of view of Georgians and foreigners: 56% of Georgian travellers prefer adventure tourism, while 32% prefer skiing and ski tourism. And 77% of foreigners are engaged in hiking and 33% in trekking. It is worth noting the special interest of foreign travellers in mountaineering and horse-riding tourism, which significantly differs from those of Georgian travellers. (See Graph 6).

Here we find tourist attractions desirable for both types of tourists, such as: Gastro tourism 32% and 22%, cultural tourism - 22% and 16%, eco-tourism - 18% and 11%.

The respondents of the quantitative survey - both Georgians and foreigners - also talked about the positive and negative factors they faced while travelling in the mountains.

Among the positive factors, both Georgians and foreigners name the culture of the region, the cleanliness of the environment and the local cuisine which have equal importance. (Graph 7). It is worth noting that foreign travellers single out the feeling of security among the positive factors.

However, it should be noted that, in addition to the positive aspects, the survey respondents also focus on the negative aspects and say that the most negative perceptions of mountain travelling are related to the presence of the fact of littering of the environmental in a number of cases (47%/33%), bad road infrastructure (48%/33%), poor mobile internet (44%) and non-organized tourist infrastructure (33%) are particularly painful for foreigners, and low-quality services

and the absence of high-class hotels are also noticeable to them. (Graph 8)

We also asked the respondents which region in their experience was the least developed for tourism in Georgia and what was the reason for that. (Graph 9 and Graph 10)

As it can be seen in the Graph, the least developed tourist regions (both for Georgians and foreigners) were named mountainous Adjara, mountainous Guria, mountainous Imereti, followed by Tusheti and Khevsureti. And among the reasons for the poor development of tourism field in these regions, as expected, the following were highlighted with the highest percentage of significance: (Graph 10)

Among foreigners - poor information about the region (33%), non-organized mountain trails (33%), violation of the authenticity of the environment (22%) and poor quality mobile Internet (22%).

For Georgian travellers, among the reasons for the less developed regions in terms of tourism, the following is named(Graph 10): Bad road infrastructure (57%), poor information about the region (29%), low level of service (26%), poor conditions of mountain trails (26%), poor choice of hotels (18%).

In order to complete the present information, we asked what they would like to add/improve for a more comfortable trip to the mountains.(Graph 11)

As can be seen in the Graph, for both types of travellers (Georgians/foreigners), the main parameter to be improved is the need to preserve the authenticity of the environment, its cultural and natural features!

After that, it would also be a significant step forward for both segments to increase awareness about the region (43% and 44%), Development of transport and road infrastructure (45% and 33%), as well as promoting the improvement of service quality (33%) and facilitating the rescue service (22%).

At the end, let’s see what the indicators of satisfaction with the development trends of mountain tourism are among both Georgian and foreign tourists (Graph 13.1 and Graph 13.2)

The given results indicate that foreign tourists are more satisfied with the trend of mountain tourism development in Georgia and have fewer complaints in this regard than Georgians.

Discussion and recommendations

Based on the information obtained from the conducted qualitative and quantitative studies, conclusions can be made with regard to a separate research task and verify the research hypothesis.

Task 1:

Analysing the world’s best practices and taking into account their experience, the main prerequisite for the development of mountain tourism in Georgia is the organization of a legal framework that will regulate the issue of certification of professional mountain guides on the one hand, and ensure the situations of purchase and use of rescue equipment, on the other hand. All of these, in turn, will bring Georgian mountain tourism closer to the world standards, provide variety of tourist attractions and safety.

Meanwhile, among the international experience, the maximum support of local tourism and the increase of the motivation of domestic travellers can be recognized as the best and most promising approach, which will insure the income of the tourism sector, if for some reason international movement of tourists is interrupted (as it happened in the conditions of the Covid-pandemic).

Taking into account the experience of the world’s leading tourist countries, it is also important to create a legal framework necessary for maintaining the authenticity of the natural environment of the mountain regions, which at the same time, will be focused on solving the problems caused by excess tourism.

Task 2.

The main precondition for avoiding crises threatening the tourism sector was the diversification of tourist markets - which ensures the entry of different and highly profitable tourist flows into the country, taking into account the running of a targeted advertising policy.

The development and support of domestic tourism was considered to be the prevention of crises - it is a reinsurance mechanism for reducing international tourist flows, which usually accompanies various international crises.

As for the local crises, that is the outflow of professional personnel from the sector. Due to this, the drop in the quality of service - which will lead to the dissatisfaction of tourists. To resolve this, the process of certification of guides, as well as personnel involved in the sector, is considered important, which will solve the problem of crisis in terms of staffing.

Main problem is massive tourism, which is followed by the destruction of the authenticity of mountain regions - firstly, this is against the goals of sustainable development and it also reduces the interest of tourists in the region, because, as we have seen from the results of the research, the main motivating factor for travelling to mountain regions is the authenticity of the environment. Massive tourism causes the transformation of tourism into the main economic source occupies an equally important place - which in turn leads to the disruption of agriculture in the region and thus increases the risks of economic crises in the region, in cases where the tourism sector is endangered for any reason.

Among the crises of the tourism business is the lack of proper marketing campaigns, which will be focused on diversified, targeted markets and will strengthen the tourism image of the country in terms of achieving the desired positioning.

Task 3.

The main effect of the increase in tourist flows in the mountains is the return migration of the population, which in turn leads to the revitalization of the region and, in this respect, to the increase of its attractiveness for tourists - this factor directly involves the adherence to the principles of sustainable development and thus deserves a positive assessment.

The same cannot be said about the process of enforcement of legal regulations, which is manifested in the systematic violation of the existing legislation in terms of development in mountainous regions and thus causing irreversible damage to the environment.

Taking this into account, it is logical that the development of mountain tourism and aligning it with the plan of sustainable development should begin with improving the legislative framework and strengthening its enforcement.

Task 4.

In terms of evaluating the effectiveness of the measures taken, the communication of the measures taken in the sector to the broad society is assessed as ineffective. Unfortunately, the steps made and measures taken by the government are rarely demonstrated - which leads to low awareness of the population and the formation of the position “nothing is being done in the direction of mountain tourism” - and this, in turn, has a negative impact on the country’s tourism image.

Among the necessary measures to eliminate the existing hindering factors, the necessary decentralization of the budget and strategy and the issue of integrating professional, local personnel in the sector should be emphasized. It is important to formulate tourism development strategies at the regional level and adapt them to the needs of a specific region - and then, with appropriate professional personnel, for the purpose of its implementation and monitoring.

Task 5.

When talking about the hindering and facilitating factors of tourism, the most important thing is the strict monitoring of the implementation of the legal requirements, the existence of the statistics of the correct loading of the tourist regions. The incorrect tourist load of the regions is manifested in the fact that, on the one hand, we have excessive tourist flows in the country, which leads to the unsystematic development of tourist regions and the destruction of the authenticity of the environment, and on the other hand, we have almost the same opportunities with completely untapped regions, which, due to infrastructural or other bureaucratic issues, remain literally beyond such business.

This once again convinces us that the regional strategies of tourism development, which will be adjusted directly to the tourism opportunities of a specific region, to unique attractions, will be the key to the development of the mountain and tourism in general. The given strategies should obviously take into account the existing agrarian resources of the region, solving the necessary infrastructural problems, necessary measures for the return migration of the population.

Task 6.

Among the factors necessary for the development of mountain tourism in the regions, it is important to develop those attractions that have the potential of a given region and are demanded by tourists.

The list of mountain destinations identified by the results of the quantitative survey of tourists (Graph 6) directly determines the tourist interests and their natural segmentation. This is an ideal starting point for segmenting tourism markets, highlighting unique products, and producing targeted advertising campaigns. Which will ultimately contribute to the desired positioning of the country - to become a country offering a unique tourist product.

Among the necessary needs for the development of tourist attractions, the appropriate tourist infrastructure, service personnel/guides with basic qualifications and, of course, the inventory specific to the attraction - to ensure safety, are important.

Task 7.

It is worth noting that the quantitative survey correctly identifies the perceptions of travellers in relation to the characteristics of mountain tourism (Graph 1). Among them, different perceptions of Georgian and foreign travellers are worth paying attention to, which is ultimately a good indication for the creation, positioning and advertising of appropriate tourist activity in both foreign and Georgian markets of mountain tourism.

The problematic aspects highlighted by the survey, which are faced by travellers when visiting the mountainous regions of Georgia (Graph 2) - among which, the tendency to break authenticity, insecurity of safety standards, less developed tourist infrastructure and in many cases the low level of awareness of the local population regarding the characteristics of tourism are clearly emphasized, - indicate to the needs the mountain tourism has and which prevent the proper development of tourism.

And the different perception of the factors hindering mountain tourism for Georgian and foreign travellers is an important reference and useful information for the correct segmentation of tourist markets and the development of an adequate business model for reaching target audiences.

The danger of the perception of mass tourism by Georgian and foreign tourists is also a carrier of important information (Graph 3), according to which it becomes clear that, compared to foreigners, Georgians generally do not see the real danger - the potential of losing the main advantage of the mountain, its authenticity - which can be threatened unconditionally unless the mass tourism is regulated. This directly points to a serious hindering factor in the development of mountain tourism in Georgia - the lack of awareness of the local population in relation to sustainable development and tourism in general.

The fact that Georgians perceive mass tourism as a positive event, while foreigners perceive it as a negative event, already indicates the dangers of tourism in Georgia and the need for measures that, on the one hand, will limit the influx of uncontrolled tourist flows into the country and, on the other hand, ensure an increase in the level of awareness of the local population.

And the fact that the main motivator for both Georgian and foreign tourists to visit the mountain is the preserved and untouched environment of the region is confirmed by the results of the survey (Graph 5), which suggests that authenticity and gastronomic characteristics are unconditional motivators for making a choice. This, in turn, is an indication for the promotion and positioning of this or that region, for highlighting its uniqueness in the marketing strategy.

The right positioning of the country and highlighting of its uniqueness will be contributed by the positive aspects highlighted by the survey, which Georgian and foreign tourists note in their mountain travel experience (Graph 7) and say that they are unconditionally fascinated by the untouched and different local culture, cuisine, opportunities for a variety of mountain attractions, etc. Along with the positive, it is important to pay attention to the negative aspects, such as the tendency to destroy the authenticity of the environment, the disorganized mining tourism infrastructure, the lack of professionalism in the service sector, the lack of safety standards, and what is no less noteworthy - the scarcity of information about the region/ineffective marketing activities.

The list of positive and negative factors mentioned by the respondents of the survey, which, according to their experience can be found in the characteristics of Georgian mountain tourism – compiles the tourist profiles in terms if information and creates a clear picture of the needs of current Georgian tourism.

This applies to both positive and negative parameters, as it is important for the development of the sector to eliminate negative aspects on the one hand, and to strengthen positive indicators on the other hand.

If the country is going to segment tourism markets and position itself with different/unique offers according to tourist profiles, then emphasizing the positively perceived characteristics identified by the survey, and putting the negative components into the corrective action plan - will contribute to the sustainable development of tourism.The existence of less developed tourist regions indicates that the country has sufficient potential to exploit additional tourist markets - if, of course, it resolves the infrastructural problems of the mentioned small busy regions and redistributes tourist flows in a targeted manner. On the one hand, this will solve the problem of uneven loading of regions caused by excessive tourism and, for this reason, the problem of destruction of the authenticity of the environment, and on the other hand, it will create a serious resource for additional income from tourism business in underdeveloped regions.

Despite a number of mentioned problems, which, according to tourists are found in the reality of Georgian mountain tourism, their level of satisfaction with development trends is quite high (graph 13) - among them, the level of foreign tourists is much higher, which is probably caused by the fact that the country’s tourism development strategy is more focused on international travellers and their satisfaction - therefore, it takes into account their possible interests in the field of supporting the tourism business. However, knowing the interests of domestic tourists and taking them into account - and thus supporting and developing domestic tourism - is no less. important and necessary for the stability of the country’s tourism potential, which is confirmed by both the results of expert research and international experience in this field.

Verification of hypothesis

Based on the given results, we can state the correctness of the main hypotheses and sub-hypotheses and emphasize that the stability of mountainous regions is actually maintained by its natural and untouched environment, which provides a variety of opportunities to spend time in an interesting manner, because for all categories of tourists, the motivating factor for travelling to the mountains is unconditionally named as authenticity - considering that they can clearly see the negative and unresolved aspects that they encounter.

Therefore, the sub-hypothesis of the research is verified, according to which everything that threatens the preserving of the mentioned natural conditions and inviolability is a factor hindering the development of mountain tourism.

Recommendations:

Based on the results of the survey, the list of recommendations that should be implemented to support mountain tourism and which derive from the country\\\'s tourism needs and directly from the tourists\\\' behavioural preferences are as follows:

Recommendation 1: The central and regional authorities, based on the experience of the world’s leading countries, should regulate general safety standards and rules for using special rescue equipment;

Recommendation 2: Professional training of local personnel in mountainous regions in accordance with the requirements of the tourism sector. This will promote the employment of local youth in the regions and bring the regions closer to the principles of sustainable development;

Recommendation 3: Develop a strategy for the development of mountainous regions, which will be adjusted to the specific needs of the individual region and its population;

Recommendation 4: Particular attention should be paid to the preservation of the authentic environment in the region, which in turn will be expressed in the preservation of both the nature and the architecture and existence characteristic of the region. The process should be regulated on the basis of strict monitoring of the legislative amendments and its implementation on the one hand, and on the other hand - by raising the level of awareness of the local population;

Recommendation 5: Facilitating and supporting domestic tourism. Such support can be expressed both with the right marketing campaign and with such an approach experienced in the world, such as a subscription system;

Recommendation 6: Develop appropriate marketing activities and legal regulations that ensure the proper loading of the mountainous region and avoid excessive tourism;

Recommendation 7: Introduction of marketing strategies of the country and its mountainous regions - through the segmented manner, by positioning the region and its uniqueness. Accordingly, the launch of this marketing campaign on the one hand in domestic as well as international markets - to attract more high-budget tourist flows;

Conclusion

To conclude, it can be said that the survey clearly showed us the real situation of mountain tourism in the perception of both experts and the main actors involved in therein - the travellers. Highlighting the uniqueness of Georgian culture, history and natural environment for travellers, which is the main motivation for their interest in Georgian mountain resorts. Emphasized the needs that, despite their admiration for the Georgian mountains, tourists see well, and the solution of which will increase the volume of mountain tourist flows and, most importantly, will make mountain tourism more important to the interests of high-budget tourists. The survey also showed the potential that the mountains of Georgia have, on the one hand, at the expense of regions that are less used for tourism, and on the other hand, at the expense of the implementation of still undeveloped - however, highly demanded and promising mountain attractions worldwide.

The present study clearly shows the role of the interested parties involved in the development of tourism business - the state, business and the local population in the development of this direction, which is spoken by both experts in the field of tourism and travellers alike.

Finally, the recommendations prepared on the basis of the survey results are a necessary prerequisite for the mountain tourism development strategy.

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