TBILISI-On November 22, the Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards Project with its Official Partner JSC Bank of Georgia (BoG) held a Press conference at the head office of the Bank.

The press conference was attended by Maryna Chayka Co-Founder and CEO of the Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards; Zurab MasurashviliHead of MSME Banking Department in BoG; Giorgi Chogovadze, Head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration; Irakli Lekvinadze, Deputy Mayor of Tbilisi; and Partner of BDO Georgia, Ivane Zhuzhunashvili.

During the press conference the importance of the project for the Georgian tourism industry was stressed with participants discussng how crucial it is to encourage companies working in this field.

Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards Second Official Ceremony will be held on December 2nd at The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi. The Award Ceremony is closed and will be attended by General Managers and owners of the best hotels, restaurants, and wineries of the country, the market leading developers, the main businesses of the country, Government officials, national and local authorities, representatives of the largest hotel operators, travel agencies and tour operators, mass media and industry press. More than 300 nominees are participating in the Award this year.

Registration for participants was open from 15 June to 20 September on the project’s official website and it was possible to register there all players working in the Georgian tourism and hospitality industry form all regions: hotels; travel agencies and tour operators; festivals and events; Restaurants, food spots and wineries; travel photographers; and business and entertainment venues.

After registration each nominee had to answer an internationally approved questionnaire. The process of assessment comprised two parts: the first part of the assessment was ONLINE voting on the project’s official website; the second part of the assessment was carried out by a professional Jury Board. Members of the Jury Board consist of experts of the world and local travel, culture and hospitality market.

All assessment processes by jury board via online cabinet was reviewed by an Independent Auditor of the Award BDO Georgia. At the end, Independent Auditor calculated the number of points awarded to each nominee (points awarded by the Jury Expert Board plus the number of votes from the online voting) and determined the finalists and the winners in each nomination.

The main mission of the Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards is to encourage tourism and hospitality industry in Georgia and also to promote the awareness of the high-achieving tourism business and brands that create a positive image of the country worldwide.

The Awards Project has big support from the side of government and from the side of private business. Georgian National Tourism Administration is Co-organizer of the project. Tbilisi City Hall and The Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Developments of Georgia are Officially Supporters; the Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi as the Official Host of the Ceremony. http://georgiatoday.ge/news/5208/Welcome-to-Georgia%21-National-Tourism-Awards-Announces-Upcoming-Awards-Ceremony