According to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a team of international researchers led by Professor David Lordkipanidze, General Director of the Georgian National Museum, found archaeological evidence that the nation of Georgia, at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, may be one of the world’s cradles of breadmaking and wine growing.

Radiocarbon dating was carried out on wheat grains found in the South Caucasus, placing them at a time period between 5922 and 5747 B.C.E. The grains were identified as Triticum aestivum, a species still associated with 95% of global wheat consumption, enabling the scientists to draw a direct line between modern breadmaking from Indian chapatis to San Francisco sourdough, to Neolithic bakers.

“It is the first documented evidence of bread wheat,” Lordkipanidze told Discover. “Our ancestors were hunter-gatherers, and they were becoming farmers, which is a big shift in human history. Here we can see the evidence.”

What’s more, existing research suggests that the same ancestors at sites in Gadachrili Gora and Shulaveris Gora were cultivating wine during the same period, making Georgia “a very special place,” Lordkipanidze said. “Here we have 8,000-year-old traces of bread wheat, as well as evidence of winemaking from the same period. This is a major scientific discovery. It shows how innovative our ancestors were — they were among the first farmers, and their legacy allows us to better understand life 8,000 years ago.”

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The team has also highlighted how the discovery challenges notions of the South Caucasus as a “peripheral region” that adopted practices from elsewhere. Instead, they point out, these earlier Georgian agricultural workers were innovators. “The Caucasus is an important region where key innovations to the development of the Near Eastern World, and by extension our current ways of life, were first created,” said Professor Stephen Batiuk of the University of Toronto, who co-led the archaeological excavations.

Going forward, more research is planned for the region between Anatolia and the Caucasus, but in the meantime, Georgia’s travel and hospitality stakeholders are likely to be folding the new discoveries into their mix, developing ways to offer visitors a taste of historic bread and winemaking practices from the regions now known to be among the original experts.

L’article Georgia among world’s oldest bread and wine regions with 8,000 years of history, scientists find est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The Trump Organization has teamed up with architecture studio Gensler and Biograpi Living, Archi Group, The Sapir Organization, Blox Group, and Finvest Georgia to develop a new Trump Tower project in Tbilisi, Georgia. It will be the first Trump-branded project in the region, including a business centre, a hotel, luxury housing, retail shopping, dining, and a range of entertainment options.

“The Trump name is synonymous with some of the most luxurious real estate developments in the world, and Trump Tower Tbilisi stands as a continuation of that legacy. We are proud to bring this globally recognised standard of excellence to Georgia and are especially pleased to collaborate with such respected and professional developers on this project,” said Eric Trump, EVP of The Trump Organization.

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In the first image, Gensler has revealed a general overview of the site. The development, which will be located next to Tbilisi’s Central Park on an area spanning over 600,000 square metres, will count six towers. One of those will be a 70-storey Trump skyscraper with a rooftop garden, set to become Georgia’s tallest building. Additional details about the development, including architecture, design, and sales information, should be announced in the coming months, as per the Trump Organization.

“Georgia has long been a nation shaped by a rich historical legacy and bold ambition. With Trump Tower Tbilisi, we are bringing that ambition to life in its most iconic form – creating a landmark that will transform the skyline and elevate Georgia’s presence on the global stage. Together with the Trump Organization, Archi is proud to play a key role in shaping its future as a premier destination for global investment and luxury living,” stated Ilia Tsulaia, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Archi Group.

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Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, counts approximately 1 million residents at the moment of writing, representing about a third of the country’s total population. Over the past few years, the city has been attracting new inhabitants, making it a popular bet for property developers. According to the press release, the Trump Tower Tbilisi “signals the city’s emergence as a key business hub and gateway to international business in Eastern Europe and Asia, as well as its growing profile among global buyers of luxury properties.”

“Collaborating with the Trump Organization is a distinct honour for our group. This landmark development reflects robust international confidence and creates enduring value for the market. We are proud to participate in such a defining milestone in Georgia’s economic evolution,” commented Lasha Kvachadze, Co-founder of Blox Group.

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The Trump Organization, owned by U.S. President Donald Trump and run by his son Eric Trump, already has an international portfolio. Residential towers can be found throughout the U.S., India, and Uruguay, while new projects are being developed in Romania, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia. Plans for the Trump International Hotel in Belgrade, Serbia, however, were cancelled in February 2026.

L’article New Trump Tower planned for Georgia with design by Gensler est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

More than thirty years have passed since the Metallurgist sanatorium last welcomed a steelworker and his family for the rare privilege of a fully paid week in its grand halls. Securing a putyovka – a trade union ‘ticket’ – for this palace-like sanatorium was considered an extraordinary stroke of luck. One can easily imagine the joy of walking through the grand entrance and being shown to rooms that felt closer to imperial chambers than workers’ quarters, lit by a majestic chandelier in the foyer. Days were spent in marble-lined baths and treatment rooms, and evenings ended with films or theatre shows. The walls of the Metallurgist still seem to echo with the laughter and songs of visitors from another century.

Today, the frescoes have faded and been replaced by layers of political posters from elections, which promised solutions for the town’s new inhabitants, the Abkhazian refugees who arrived in 1992–93. The degree of success of these promises remains unclear.

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A quick historical overlook

Already renowned as a spa destination in the 19^th century, the modern balneological resort of Tskaltubo was established in the 1920s atop marshy lowlands and radon-rich springs. At its peak, the town had twenty-two sanatoriums and nine springs whose radon-carbonate waters were believed to have miraculous healing powers. These waters became known as ‘living water’. A small museum still displays the abandoned crutches and canes left behind by visitors who were said to have been cured by the baths. Stalin himself bathed here. Buildings were designed to promote wellness with monumental bathhouses, domed halls and vast pools.

Each Soviet ministry or trade union built its own grandiose sanatorium: Metallurg for metallurgists, Shakhtyor for miners, Tsentrosoyuz for cooperatives and Geolog for geologists. Resembling neo-classical palaces, these imposing structures boasted gigantic windows, ornate mosaics and sweeping staircases. Tskaltubo also welcomed military officers, political elites and artists, many of whom arrived on the daily direct train from Moscow.

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With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the taps of State funding shut off, visitors vanished, the railway closed, and the sanatoriums were abandoned.

At the same time, Georgia descended into war in Abkhazia, which was seeking independence from the newly independent Georgian state. More than 260,000 Georgians fled the region, many with little more than a suitcase and nowhere to go. With dozens of enormous buildings suddenly standing empty, the government housed displaced families in Tskaltubo’s abandoned sanatoriums and hotels. What had been designed for wellness tourism became a temporary shelter – a status that, for many, became permanent, and for the next decades, the buildings were left to decay.

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Ghost sanatoriums & ‘ruin tourism’

Walk into the Metallurgist or Savane sanatorium today, and you may find that the lobby has been swept clean and that there is a souvenir table beside a marble wall. You may also notice wires tacked along the corridors, which were added to bring electricity to improvised rooms. Some residents have created a hybrid of home, museum and informal marketplace within their buildings. Others live in structures so unstable that entire floors are unsafe. Clothes dry on railings that were once used to hang bathrobes. Children play in courtyards framed by crumbling columns. The legality of this occupation is ambiguous: some families were placed there by the state in the early 1990s, while others arrived informally. Several buildings have changed ownership, yet the residents remain.

Amidst abandoned toys, leftover posters from the time of the pandemic and fading campaign flyers, a new human landscape has emerged from the ruins of Tskaltubo’s grand past – and it has turned the town into a popular destination for ruin tourism.

Vloggers and journalists now arrive regularly, each capturing the buildings through their own artistic lens. For some, the highlight is Stalin’s bathhouse or his ballroom in the Gornika sanatorium. Some buildings permit entry, while others are barricaded behind high walls – it is unclear whether these are intended to keep tourists or the many stray dogs out. These dogs are unexpectedly friendly and often accompany visitors for hours in exchange for a small snack.

@lizvanbird We explored Tskaltubo, Georgia's abandoned Soviet spa town, with a furry friend as our guide. Once the most popular spa towns of Georgia, Tskaltubo's bathhouses and sanatoriums were abandoned and stripped of anything valuable after the Soviet Union collapse in the 90s. We found it a very interesting visit, seeing how nature reclaims its territory after people leave. Inside one of the buildings, we met a family who had restored vital amenities and made it their home. They showed us around in their building and were very friendly, as was our friend Boris the dog. Don’t wait too long to visit if this also sounds interesting to you, since the sanatoriums are coming in hands of private investors. Several buildings are already no longer accessible as construction is on the way. #fyp #foryoupage #tskaltubo #georgia ♬ With A Smile – Maiah Manser

Cori Ander, a vlogger, filmed herself being followed by a pack of stray dogs as she explored the ruins, the dogs trailing her like personal bodyguards. In the video, she can be seen moving through a mosaic playground, a collapsed theatre hall and empty rooms where clothes, beds and personal belongings have been left behind. There is an emotional moment when she finds a stack of abandoned black-and-white photos of families who were probably refugees, whose lives have been disrupted and will never be fully recaptured.

Key sites include Bathhouse No. 8, Sanatorium Tbilisi, Geolog, Metallurgist, Medea, Gornika, Iveria, and the Brutalist Hotel Aia, which features Soviet mosaics depicting grape harvests and wine production.

Most sanatoriums are fenced off, and Stalin’s bathhouse is decrepit but guarded. Nature has taken over many of the buildings’ interiors, with pine trees growing through the floors and vegetation filling former ballrooms.

Back to the Future?

Despite appearances, progress has begun. Although many projects remain stalled, renovations are underway, and investors continue to show interest.

Back in 2012, when the buildings were literally falling apart, President Mikheil Saakashvili promised to transform Tskaltubo into ‘the best place in Europe’ within four years. Since then, the town has received millions of dollars in funding from the World Bank for public infrastructure, lighting and tourism development.

A 2016 World Bank article described the Imereti region as undergoing a transformation as part of the Second Regional Development Project. However, very few of Tskaltubo’s historic buildings have been fully restored. Most remain in limbo – too valuable to demolish, too damaged to renovate quickly, and too inhabited to clear out.

Some sanatoriums have been sold privately, while others, such as the Tbilisi building, remain officially closed. Half the town feels abandoned, while the other half is still lived in. The difference today is that, after spending the day exploring the ruins, visitors can end it in one of the few restored or newly built spas.

Caught between its tsar-like ruins, its inhabited skeletons, and its tentative future, Tskaltubo is caught between two worlds: a Soviet spa utopia and a dystopian landscape of ruin tourism. It is waiting for its next chapter.

L’article Tskaltubo from Soviet spa utopia to a dystopian world of ruin tourism est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

This means that while regular citizens will still be able to enjoy visa-free travel to the EU for short stays, Georgian diplomats and officials will not only now have to apply for a visa, but also no longer benefit from shorter application times, lower visa fees or the possibility to submit fewer supporting documents.

The facilitation agreement was reached on 1 March 2011 in the context of Georgia becoming an EU candidate, looking to join the bloc. However, “the actions taken by Georgia [over the past few months] breach the fundamental principles on which the facilitation agreement was concluded and go against the interests of the EU and its member states,” the Council said in a statement.

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The suspension comes after a “Law on transparency of foreign influence” and a legislative package on “family values and protection of minors” were adopted in Georgia last year. The EU considers that these legislations undermine the fundamental rights of the Georgian people, including the freedom of association and expression, the right to privacy, the right to participate in public affairs, and increases stigmatisation and discrimination.

The proposal is also a response to violent repression by the Georgian authorities against the mass peaceful protesters, politicians and independent media that started after the government announced on 28 November 2024 to no longer pursue the opening of negotiations with the EU until 2028.

Fundamental rights and democratic values are core principles of EU integration. Officials that represent a country which trample down these values should not benefit from easier access to the EU.

Tomasz Siemoniak, Polish Minister of the Interior and Administration

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The Council has made it very clear that Georgian nationals who are holders of ordinary passports will continue to benefit from the visa exemption when travelling to the EU for short stays. The visa facilitation agreement will only be suspended for the following categories:

• members of Georgia’s official delegations who participate in official meetings and other events held in the territory of an EU country by intergovernmental organisations
• members of Georgia’s national and regional Governments and Parliaments, Georgia’s Constitutional Court and Supreme Court
• holders of diplomatic passports

“We will continue to stand with the Georgian people on their EU path,” Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, said in December last year. “We have already downgraded political contacts and redirected funding away from the authorities towards the Georgian people, to civil society and independent media.”

L’article EU suspends visa-free travel for Georgian diplomats and officials, but not ordinary citizens est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

For four months from 5 October 2023, Georgian art and culture will be taking centre stage across various iconic venues in the European capital, uniting the visual and performing arts, film, music, literature and debate.

What a day! #europaliageorgia Arts Festival is now officially open.
is honoured to be host of @europalia_ festival that gives excellent opportunity to represent the best of our unique & fascinating culture & arts in Europe.
Vive la Géorgie,vive la Belgique,vive l’Europe! pic.twitter.com/FyDVtnCzc2

— Vato Makharoblishvili (@AmbVatoM) October 5, 2023

What is Europalia?

A multi-modal art and culture festival themed around a different country every two years, this year’s Europalia has taken Georgia as its focus, with a rich calendar of exhibitions, shows, concerts, dance and theatre productions and literature that promises to bring the best of Georgia’s regions and capital to a wider European audience.

Tous les deux ans, @europalia_ met un pays à l’honneur à travers sa culture : le théâtre, la danse, la musique et la littérature. Cette fois-ci, c’est la Géorgie qui est sous le feux des projecteurs ! pic.twitter.com/TgcdNngg00

— Belgian Royal Palace (@MonarchieBe) October 4, 2023

The festival programme was launched at the Belgian capital’s Bozar last week, an event attended by King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. On X, Vato Makharoblishvili, the Georgian ambassador to the EU, said the country was “honoured” by the festival.

Georgian Avant-Garde

Fittingly, Europalia’s opening exhibition at Bozar brings back to the fore a Georgian movement that was going on as Art Deco form was itself taking shape.

Georgia’s Avant-Garde movement (1900-1936) saw many creatives descend upon the Georgian capital during the country’s brief period of independence between the fall of Russia’s Tsarist Empire and the USSR’s takeover from 1918 and 1921. This artistic community came together to fuel its own revolution in art and in life, embracing Western and Eastern influences, and incarnating a new attitude.

The movement was brutally stamped out when the USSR annexed Georgia, with some avant-garde artists persecuted and deported and others forced to adopt a style more in keeping with the USSR’s preferred socialist realism.

While Berlin’s period of underground artistic hedonism between the wars has been well documented, in the show Cabaret for example, this fertile and febrile time in Georgia is little known.

Now Europalia, for the first time in Europe, is shining a light on the glory days of the Georgian Avant-Garde, as well as exposing the repression that took place and tracing the path of artists pushed towards other disciplines and art forms such as film production and sceneography.

“Never been shown before”

Commenting on the choice of Georgia for the exhibition, Dirk Vermaelen, artistic director of Europalia, said: “In an exceptionally short period, a fascinating number of artists met in the taverns and cafés of the capital, Tbilisi. This Georgian avant-garde was totally unknown. We immediately thought: we have to show this, this has to be our opening exhibition. It has never been shown in Europe before.”

What’s more, the festival is not all retrospective or canonical, by any means. Newly commissioned projects and artistic residencies, women’s art and youth movements are also part of the package, showing that art and experimentation are alive and well in Georgia.

L’article Europalia Festival opens with shining light on Georgia’s Avant-Garde est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Batumi, the second-largest city of Georgia, will host the 30^th World Travel Awards Europe Gala Ceremony. The city’s emergence as a burgeoning tourism destination has captured attention in recent years, propelling it into the spotlight as Europe’s new travel hotspot and a magnet for tourism investment. The event, set to take place on September 29, 2023, promises to draw in prominent figures from the travel industry across the continent.

“We are proud to have you here with us, grateful for the opportunity of building together a greater future for our tourism industry and delighted to share with you the very best of Georgian hospitality”, said Tornike Rijvadze, Chairman of the Government of Ajara Autonomous Republic.

Nestled within the autonomous Ajara region, Batumi boasts an enticing all-season climate along the shores of the Black Sea. This picturesque setting is adorned by the snow-capped Ajara Mountains, providing an idyllic backdrop to this celebration of excellence in the travel sector.

The gala ceremony will find its home at the venerable Gonio Fortress, an emblematic historical monument that stands as one of Georgia’s most significant landmarks. This 2,000-year-old structure, an exemplar of Roman architecture, is globally acclaimed for its impeccable preservation.”

“This fascinating destination is one of the rising stars of tourism, and as one of the most talked about locations in the world, is a place that everyone should visit. I am delighted it will form a crucial part of our special 30^th anniversary Grand Tour”, Graham Cooke, Founder of the World Travel Awards, said on a press release.

“I look forward to joining the most senior travel industry figureheads from across Europe for what promises to be a fabulous, historic event that will last long in everyone’s memory”, he added.

L’article Batumi to host 30th World Travel Awards Europe Gala Ceremony est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Every two years, europalia compiles a diverse artistic programme focusing on a country or a theme. For four months, in Belgium and its neighbouring countries, the festival, in collaboration with a wide network of cultural partners, presents a biennial with a myriad of artistic and socio-cultural projects that bring together visual arts, performing arts, film, music, literature and debate to stimulate an exchange of ideas.

Newly commissioned projects and artistic residencies hold a central place in the programme, which engenders a unique interaction between heritage and art. In a broader sense, the festival shows Georgia beyond clichés and gives a voice to, among others, Georgian women and youngsters and to lesser-known traditions, regions and artists.

The tradition of polyphony, or multi-voice singing – very different from Western polyphony – unites all Georgians and is the first major common thread throughout the programme. Renowned Georgian choirs will perform in numerous projects and in various venues.

The programme is also inspired by supras – gatherings around richly filled tables, accompanied by chants and speeches from toastmasters – and challenges contemporary artists to creatively and critically explore this living tradition in interdisciplinary creations.

The second core theme is ‘remembrance’. How do you, as a society and as an individual, deal with memories of the Soviet regime or of recent or ongoing conflicts? The festival brings artists into dialogue to discuss these topics, including the practice of commemoration. Georgians take a very different approach to loss and grief, as seen in their commemorations of the dead in various forms and traditions.

The avant-garde in Georgia (1900-1936) at Bozar (Brussels) will be the opening exhibition. It will highlight for the very first time a largely forgotten chapter of avant-garde art in Europe. In the 1910s and 1920s, an art scene blossomed in Georgia, centring on taverns and cafes opened and decorated by artists from various backgrounds. These artists blended Georgian traditions with elements from the East and West in a unique art that fell into oblivion due to the repression and censorship of the Soviet regime. The exhibition brings together paintings, drawings, film, photography, poetry and costume and theatre designs from this artistic laboratory and gives a voice to these artists, many of whom were persecuted during the Soviet era.

A cultural heritage exhibition at the Art & History Museum in Brussels will showcase together never-before-seen treasures from museums all over Georgia, offering fascinating insights into this complex region and testifying to the many cultural exchanges and migrations, starting from the Bronze Age. These include Georgia’s wine culture – the oldest one in the world – and the forging of (precious) materials, which made the region attractive to diverse cultures.

While additional content, themes and disciplines are yet to be announced, europalia promises numerous new, interdisciplinary creations, curated in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth of Georgia.

L’article Georgia’s cultural heritage will be showcased at this year’s europalia est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

In Georgia, I had the impression, everything is about good produce. Cold pressed sunflower oil with a toasted, nutty flavour, ruby red tomatoes so juicy that you wish you’d get these back in Northern and Western Central Europe, too, wine, that’s been made based on hundred year old traditional methods. There certainly is a lot of food to keep you eating three times a day for 3 weeks, but let’s break it down to the 5 most important dishes you should eat in Tbilisi and in Georgia in general.

1. Khachapuri

Khachapuri is, depending on the region where it’s made (and there are over six different shapes and ways to make it), a bread made from yeast filled with cheese and other delicious stuff. The most common are the round Imeruli and the oval, boat-shaped Adjaruli. Khachapuri is filled with cheese, lots of cheese, always. The other toppings can vary from extra Feta, spinach, potatoes or other vegetables to an egg in the middle, with the yolk still being intact and runny. The latter filling is most common for the oval shaped Khachapuri, as for eating it, you mix the egg with the cheese and then dip the crust into it to eat. We often ordered it as a starter or snack, but considering its size it’s easily eaten as a full meal, too.

2. Sunflower oil

It’s weird to put sunflower oil on a to-eat list, but the Georgian one is something you certainly shouldn’t miss. It’s very different from your regular sunflower cooking oil, that has barely a colour, tastes very delicate and more like nothing and is mostly used for dishes that call for ‘neutral oil’. The sunflower oil I’ve tried in Tbilisi was nothing like that. It had a deep amber colour, almost like whisky, and was much thicker in its consistency. It’s taste was unbelievably rich, nutty and toasted and worked so amazingly well with not only the Georgian tomato salad, but also just for dipping bread into it, making pesto or simply pouring a few tablespoons over a handful of fresh vegetables. The secret to it is that it’s a virgin, non-refined and cold pressed oil and you can buy it at most markets in Tbilisi and some stores.

3. Tomatoes with crushed walnuts

There are a lot of walnuts in Georgia. Besides hiding plenty of them in a long strangely looking kind of candy sausage that’s covered in thickened grape juice (Churchkhela) and making eggplant and pomegranate savoury snacks from it, they also belong into a true Georgian salad. The ingredients vary from place to place, but most commonly it’s fresh tomatoes in wedges or slices with crunchy cucumber pieces, some onion and most importantly: a creamy walnut dressing. For this, walnuts are crushed very finely, together with garlic, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and some water to thin out the sauce. Then, you mix cucumbers, tomatoes and red onions and dress them with the walnut dressing. I’ve seen recipes where coriander and parsley are added, too. I love to add a few splashes of the sunflower oil, to give the whole salad a deeper taste.

4. Khinkali

As Poland has their pierogi, in Russia it’s pelmeni, Japanese have Gyoza, Italians ravioli,  Germans have their Maultaschen, so do the Georgians make Khinkali. The stuffed dumplings originated in the mountains of Georgia (which are beautiful and worth a visit as well) and are usually filled with minced meat like lamb, beef or pork, as well as onions and spices. They’re served cooked, sometimes with extra fresh black pepper and are shaped like little bags, twirled together on top. You eat them by first sucking out the juices inside the dumpling and only then eating the filling along with the skin. More and more alternative options, such as purely made from vegetables, of Khinkali can be found.

5. Wine

Whether wine is food is debatable, but it’s definitely something to try when in Georgia. The region most famous for wine is Kakheti, but also Adjara, Imereti, Kartli, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti are known for its cultivation. Georgia is one of the oldest wine regions in the world and has a unique production method. A Kvevri, a large clay pot resembling an amphora and painted inside with beeswax, is characteristic for making wines in Georgia. In these, wine is fermented, aged and stored by being buried in the earth or set in cellars up until their neck. If you wish, you can call Georgian wine a natural one, as most of the time, the process depends on natural fermentation only, without added yeasts. Natural yeasts in the skin of the grapes are crucial for the fermentation of the grapes.

Another characteristic of Georgian wines is that the white wines are rather orange than white, resulting from skin maceration. This means that instead of removing the skins and separating them from the juice, they’re kept together for some time. It doesn’t only give the wine an orange colouring but also gives it a bolder, less sweeter taste with more tannins. The probably most famous grapes are the red Saperavi, the red Mujuretuli and the white Mtsvane.

L’article 4 Foods you must try when in Georgia est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

According to The Moscow Times, in an interview with Russian broadcaster RTVI, Georgian Airways’ founder, Tamaz Gaiashvili, said there is “sufficient demand on these routes“ and “it will be more convenient and faster through Tbilisi than in other directions.”

1. Georgia-Russia

Apart from connecting flights from Europe to Russia, Georgian Airways also resumed flights to Russia, earlier this month, operating to Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport. The flight was the airline’s first appearance in Russia since before the pandemic hit and the former Soviet Union banned flights from Georgia. Now, Russian authorities considered boosting the route by granting Georgian nationals up to 90-day visa-free entry.

The resumption of flights between Georgia and Russia triggered public protests in Tbilisi with the Georgian President, Salome Zurabishvili, declaring a boycott of the Georgian airline. The carrier will go head-to-head with Russian airline Azimuth on the Tblisi to Vnukovo route. Azimuth operates flights to the Georgian capital with its fleet of Sukhoi Superjet 100s. 

2. Expanding European flights

Georgian Airways expanded its European operations from its hub at Tbilisi International Airport, launching flights to both Prague and Rome on May 27, with Thessaloniki and Larnaca joining the airline’s route network starting June 15. They will operate alongside the carrier’s existing flights to four other destinations within the EU – Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, and Vienna.

With the European expansion, Georgian Airways will facilitate the transport for EU-based travelers wishing to go to Russia, with direct flights to Moscow. Despite offering a more direct geographical routing than via other airports, such as Dubai or Istanbul, we’re about to discover how much demand there will be for Georgian Airways’ connecting services to Russia.

L’article Georgian Airways resumes transfer flights to Russia, sparking EU and Ukrainian criticism est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Tamaz Gaiashvili, the airline’s founder, said in a statement, which was quoted by TASS where he declared the head of state of Georgia “persona non grata.” He went on to say that until Salome Zurabishvili “apologizes to the Georgian people” she will not be allowed to “board” Georgian Airways planes.

I personally declare a boycott of Georgian Airways and urge you to join it.

Salome Zurabishvili, President of Georgia

Flights to Georgia had been banned since 2019, but last week Vladimir Putin suspended the blockade and granted a visa-free regime to citizens of that country who wish to travel to Moscow. The Georgian President called the move a “provocation” by the Kremlin and subsequently urged citizens to boycott Georgian Airways.

According to Reuters news agency, many citizens of Georgia oppose any rapprochement with Russia, which in 2008 recognized the independence of two separatist regions: South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Zurabishvili’s appeals have however been ignored by Georgian authorities.

“I personally declare a boycott of Georgian Airways and urge you to join it,” said Zurabishvili said in a statement released on Saturday May 20th, quoted by TASS. “This is a company that uses the state to enrich itself. The same thing happened during the previous government. It continued during the Covid-19 pandemic and now they want to take advantage of the new reality [the resumption of flights to Russia], which is unacceptable to the majority of our population.”

There have been signs of rapprochement with Russia, at least among a section of Georgia’s politicians and business people. The country’s government has worked over the past few years to improve relations with Moscow, and they declined to impose sanctions after Russia invaded Ukraine more than a year ago. For several months, Georgia’s political opposition has denounced the government conciliatory behavior towards Russia.

Georgian Airways first flight for Moscow left Tbilisi on the morning of Saturday May 20th and arrived almost three hours later in Moscow. TASS stated that the airline will offer seven such trips per week.

L’article Georgian Airways bans Georgia’s President over Russia flights criticism est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.