On April 15, ISET Policy Institute researcher Lasha Labadze attended a student conference on the topic of “Tourism Development Perspectives in Georgia and World Experience”. Organized by the Research and Planning Department of the Georgian National Tourism Administration, and supported by ISET along with other partners, the event aimed to involve students in improving and solving the issues that the country is facing today in the tourism industry. It gave the participants an opportunity to collaborate with each other as well as the national administration in order to carry out research and bring new ideas to the tourism sector.

All students from accredited universities – including vocational institutions in Georgia and abroad – had the chance to participate in the event. Around 100 projects were submitted, from which 20 were chosen to be presented during the event.

The winners were rewarded with monetary prizes in addition to certificates, vouchers, and positions at tourism organizations. The topics of their projects and presentations covered a wide range of categories, though the emphasis was placed on wine tourism and ideas for methods to stimulate and expand domestic tourism in general.