The Tourist Information Point in Tusheti officially opened on 5 July and will support the innovative initiative by collecting voluntary financial contributions for the maintenance of the current tourism infrastructure and its further sustainable development in Tusheti.
The information point is established as one of the measures under the Management Plan for Tusheti Protected Landscape and is located next to the ranger’s house in Tusheti National Park, on the way to the village of Omalo. The objective of the Information Point is to introduce and collect voluntary based financial contribution. The following contribution is a voluntary-charity fee for the visitors of Tusheti Protected Landscape. The main aim of the initiative is to mobilize financial resources for the improvement of accessibility and to ensure the sustainable development of tourism in Tusheti according to EU practices in the field.
The first tourists already visited the Info Point on the opening day and a group of Belarusian travelers were first to contribute financially to the future of sustainable development in Tusheti. The group received Tusheti tourist maps developed by the project team.
For the first two months, the information point will run as a pilot project. For the next two month, the CENN recruited operators – Levan Gagoshvili and Mamuka Omiadze will run the Info Point and be in charge of the information dissemination regarding the voluntary financial contribution. As noted by Mamuka: “Tourists have a chance to get a free map and WiFi at our Information Point. The info Point is vital for the further sustainable development in Tusheti, as here we also collect voluntary financial contribution. From now on donations are accepted here and the contributions collected during next two months will be used to advance tourist services in Tusheti.”
The Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Georgia, Tomáš Pernický, the Executive Director of CENN, Nana Janashia, local authorities from Akmeta Municipality, and representatives from the Tusheti Protected Landscape Administration and Agency of Protected Areas attend the opening ceremony.
The Information Point was made possible due to the financial contribution of the Czech Development Aid, specifically the development project led by the Krkonoše Mts. National Park Administration with Czech Nature Conservation Agency in tandem with the environmental organization CENN, the Agency of Protected Areas of Georgia (APA), and the Tusheti Protected Landscape Administration.
By Anna Zhvania
Main photo: Omalo, Tusheti. View from Keselo fort. Georgia. / I, Alsandro