On May 1 ReforMeter and the USAID Economic Governance Program hosted a public-private dialogue to discuss the progress of tourism reform with local stakeholders in Ambrolauri, Racha, Georgia.

The meeting included an assessment of the reform and a review of the planned changes within tourism law, those which help coordination at the national and regional levels, diversify the offers the sector provides visitors, ensure high-quality tourist services, and develop a standard for protecting consumer rights and safety.

The public-private dialogue was launched with opening speeches from Michelle Koscielski, Director of USAID's Office of Economic Growth; Davit Khutsishvili, First Deputy Chairman of Ambrolauri Municipality Council; Medea Janiashvili, Deputy Head of the National Tourism Administration of Georgia; and Giorgi Papava, Lead Economist of the ISET Policy Institute, the "ReforMeter" Project Manager.

During the first part of the meeting, Giorgi Bregadze, Sectoral Policy Advisor of the USAID Economic Governance Program briefed the stakeholders in attendance about the tourism reform, followed by Tamar Tandashvili, co-founder of the Georgian Tourism Industry Alliance who presented the activities of the Georgian Tourism Industry Alliance. The presentation part was concluded with the overview of the tourism reform progress assessment delivered by Elene Tskhomelidze, Senior Researcher of the ISET Policy Institute.

The meeting was attended by representatives of those local agencies involved in the development and implementation of the reform, associations working within tourism, and from the civil and private sectors who discussed the expected results of planned changes within the framework of the reform, all in the format of a public-private dialogue.