Think Tank 3.2.D:
Integrating agricultural and tourism supply chains for boosting marginal Mountain areas
ID: 292
Workshop & Poster
Estimating the trade-offs between pastoralism, food products and tourism for enhancing the local economy
Keywords: Agriculture and pastoralism, local food products, nature-based tourism, tourism offer
ID: 431
Workshop & Poster
Spatial Peculiarities of Local Tourism Supply-Chain in High Mountainous Georgia: Challenges and Perspectives
Keywords: Local Tourism Supply Chain, Regional Development, Qualitative Research, Community- based Participatory Approach, Mountain Tourism Development
Salukvadze, Gvantsa
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia
Tourism constitutes one of the most progressive economic fields and plays a crucial role in improving Georgia's socio-economic conditions. According to the World Tourism Organization (2017), in recent years Georgia has achieved unprecedented rates of tourism growth globally.
Conversely, a controversial reality can be observed through the results of the latest international interdisciplinary research project carried-out in mountainous areas of Georgia. Particularly, rapid tourism development in the research areas has triggered economic growth, but related economic fields, such as agriculture which should be growing in tandem to chart an inclusive development course together, do not enjoy the same expected growth. Moreover, a significant decline and in some cases the full disappearance (different fields of agriculture) can be seen in mountain residents’ traditional economic activities. Researchers have stressed the inevitable need for a thorough study of the local tourism supply side and its geographical context including the short food supply chains.
The international research project “Linkages Between Tourism and Community-driven Economic Activities: Shaping Sustainability in Mountain Regions” (2018-2020) has been launched by Tbilisi State University with the University of Giessen generously funded by the Shota Rustaveli National Scientific foundation of Georgia to study the local community-driven economic activities within the local tourism supply chain.
The scientific novelty of the research stands on a synthesis of mainstream approaches with the traditional methods of collecting and analyzing information. The qualitative study was held in Mestia municipality, that is among the most visited tourist places in high mountainous Georgia. The qualitative research methods for data collection combined 18 in-depth interviews with local households and 37 focused interviews with representatives of the tourism industry. The analysis of the collected information has been carried by using features of data analysis computer programs, such as MAXQDA and QGIS.