Georgia has set its sights on sustainable agritourism
Georgia has much to offer to tourists. Its stunning natural beauty, stretching from mountains to shores, is matched by a vast array of gastronomic delights unique to the country. Georgia is keen to grow its agritourism industry in a responsible, inclusive and eco-friendly way. FAO and the EBRD are helping them to do just that, thanks to a development roadmap, trainings, knowledge exchanges, promotional material and online cooking demos.
The two organizations have been working closely with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, the Georgian National Tourism Administration, Elkana Biological Farming Association and Georgia’s Farmers Association on the initiative.
Sustainable agritourism can create jobs and diversify incomes, especially by linking small-scale producers to bigger companies, hotels and restaurants for local sourcing. It can also revitalize rural communities and contribute to preserving a region’s biodiversity and natural beauty.
In 2022, the initiative organized several events to promote agritourism and local products in Georgia’s Samstkhe-Javakheti and Tusheti regions. A series of trainings focused on agritourism development along with lessons from successful agritourism destinations like Italy, Croatia and Slovenia, as well as Montenegro, where FAO and the EBRD have been supporting similar agritourism activities. Participants learned how to improve the processing of Tsiteli doli, an ancient Georgian wheat variety low in gluten, and the packaging, labelling, transportation, logistics and marketing of products made from Tsiteli doli wheat.
Another training introduced good hygiene and safety practices adapted to small-scale artisanal dairies in producing Tenili, a traditional string cheese with a centuries’ long history. As with Tsiteli doli, discussions focused on how to improve quality along the Tenili supply chain and to communicate better with consumers on authenticity. In Samtskhe-Javakheti, Elkana’s Conservation Farm "Seed Ark" hosted a successful bread and cheese day in 2022.
The FAO/EBRD initiative also organized a press tour to give tour operators and influencers a better idea of the agritourism options available across the Samstkhe-Javakheti and Tusheti regions. The group stayed in typical agritourism facilities, participated in cooking events, tasted local products and visited natural sites. In addition, an agritourism guide on the Samstkhe-Javakheti region highlights different tourist itineraries, typical recipes and local producers’ offerings. Together this work, along with planned knowledge exchanges with Italy’s Campania region, is helping to strengthen sustainable agritourism in Georgia.