What would Christmas be without a Christmas tree? In Georgia, in Europe, or anywhere else in the world. But little known to most Europeans, most trees sold in Europe can trace their origin to Georgia.

This weekend we visited one of the more remote parts of Georgia, the Shiraki plains at the border to Azerbaijan. After passing through Dedoplis Tskaro, the district capital and largest town in this part of Georgia, we found ourselves on a bad road going all the way to the small town of Kasritstkali.

Recently, I attended a show by the famous Erisioni dancing group, which was performing in Georgia for the first time after two years of constant traveling abroad. The Georgian dancers in traditional costumes were sensational, but as an economist, a minor incident caught my attention nearly as much as the Erisioni ensemble.

Judging by the number of foreigners entering Georgia since 2004, tourism expanded at a breathtaking average pace of 32% a year, nearly doubling every three years. A simple extrapolation suggests that in four more years, by 2015, Georgia may be receiving more than 5mln tourists per year.

Partnering with the Association of Young Professionals in Energy of Georgia (AYPEG), ISET Policy Institute completed the project Assessment of the Research and Training needs For Georgian Energy Sector. This involved the interviews with the representatives of the companies operating in the energy sector of Georgia, both private and governmental (GNERC, ESCO, GSE etc.) and the large energy consumer companies (45 companies in total).