Svaneti, Georgia

• Client: Austrian Development Agency
• Partners: Caucuses Consulting Group
• Project Duration: January – September 2023

The Svaneti Region in Georgia is home to the stunning Caucasus Mountains and boasts a rich cultural heritage, including authentic architecture, tower houses, and remote villages. This unique combination of natural and cultural assets offers a diverse palette of activities for potential visitors, from mountaineering and climbing to hiking, skiing, and whitewater rafting. However, the region faces significant challenges in balancing the potential for tourism development with the need to preserve and protect its environmentally sensitive areas and cultural and architectural urban sites.

To address these challenges, the Green Economy: Sustainable Mountain Tourism and Organic Agriculture (GRETA) project aimed to develop a sustainable tourism destination in the Svaneti region in partnership with Caucasus Consulting Group. Over 12 months, the project developed a tourism development strategy and action plan using an inclusive approach, incorporating input from a wide range of stakeholders, including local municipal representatives, the Georgian National Tourism Administration, private sector SMEs in tourism, and NGOs supporting conservation-based tourism.

The project contributed to the conservation of protected areas and historical urban sites while enhancing local livelihoods and promoting sustainable tourism. Its mission was to transform Svaneti into a model for unique and sustainable tourism, serving as an example for other mountainous communities in Georgia and the Caucasus.

Major Activities and Results

• Analyzed existing tourism products and infrastructure across the region, creating a tourism potential analysis to guide the development of new sustainable tourism products and improve existing ones.
• Engaged with the local population to gauge regional and local sentiments toward tourism development, ensuring broad involvement to reflect their opinions, hopes, and concerns.
• Collaborated closely with the Svaneti DMO to refine findings.
• Cooperated with key stakeholders, including the local municipality, Georgian National Tourism Administration, private sector SMEs, and NGOs supporting tourism.
• Formulated a 5-year Tourism Development Strategy and Action Plan (Destination Management Plan) for both Upper and Lower Svaneti, identifying prioritized actions within an annual rolling program and assigning responsibility to relevant stakeholders for implementation.