Different climate zones from semi-desert to subtropics, five veritable ski resorts up to 3,300 meters high, mediaeval fortresses and monasteries, an alphabet with World Cultural Heritage status, the birthplace of wine – George Chogovadze, Head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration, summarises this great diversity with this sentence: “Georgia is the jewel of the Caucasus and deserves to be discovered!” Over 7.5 million tourists have made this discovery over the past year – a new record, and an increase of 20 per cent from arrivals in 2016.

The historic Silk Road “has made enormous progress in recent years”. These were the words of the Secretary-General of UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili, speaking during the project’s 8^th Ministers’ Meeting at the ITB Berlin Convention.