14 April 2014: A UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) project, titled ‘Support for Georgia in the Field of Protected Area Development,’ has established a network of biodiversity-based tourism products in five Georgian national parks. The project, which concluded in April, aimed to improve tourism management and implement innovative biodiversity-based tourism.

The project, which was also meant to serve as an example for similar initiatives throughout the Caucasus, supported capacity building courses with local tourism stakeholders as well as the development and implementation of marketing strategies for protected areas. In discussing its merits, UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, stressed the value of sustainable tourism for environmental preservation.

The project was implemented by UNWTO with support from the Federal German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conversation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMU), and in partnership with the Agency for Protected Areas of Georgia (APA), the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA),the Centre for Biodiversity Conservation and Research (NACRES) and the Georgian Tourism Association (GTA). [UNWTO News]