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Services Projects 27 Insights 43 Podcasts 17 Careers About
Georgia Tourism Benchmarking Report & Tourism Recovery Marketing Plan
Marketing & Branding
Client
USAID | Solimar International | Georgian National Tourism Administration
Tags
Tourism Recovery
Marketing Plan
Destination Marketing
Benchmarking Analysis
In the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia had emerged as one of the fastest growing international tourism destinations in the world. However, the pandemic had forced tourist flows to plummet and caused significant disruption across the whole of the country’s tourism industry. At risk of losing years of progress and investments, the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA) decided to develop an innovative National Tourism Recovery Plan to guide the country’s response to the pandemic.
The Challenge

In this context, TOPOSOPHY was assigned to draft a detailed benchmarking analysis and, subsequently, to develop a 1-year Marketing Plan as an integral part of the National Tourism Recovery Plan.

Objective 01

Mobilise and align various tourism stakeholders towards promoting Georgia and achieving its goals in terms of sustainability.

Objective 02

Assess competitor destinations for Georgia and enable the country to navigate a new competitive landscape.

Objective 03

Facilitate the adoption of best practices that could be adapted to the specific characteristics of Georgia.

Objective 04

Provide a robust roadmap towards faster recovery as well as increased resilience and competitiveness.

Objective 05

Ensure that future tourism growth is sustainable and balanced.

Approach

From unique cultural and natural heritage attractions to local delicacies, Georgia has something worth visiting in every corner of the country. However, this was not enough for the tourism sector to escape the disastrous effects of the pandemic.

Thus, dived deep into understanding Georgia’s pre-COVID-19 situation, researched its brand and products, identified opportunities, challenges and trends and analysed its competition, as well as current and potential target groups. After setting the scene and understanding Georgia's competitive advantages, we sourced ideas from a set of global best practices and proceeded with the establishment of a framework of goals and themes which informed the action plan. To draw a future-proof path for short-term restoration and long-term sustainability, we went beyond focussing on marketing and communication alone. We also developed concrete actions on strategic partnerships and community building, social and environmental sustainability and product development and experience design.

Key element 01

Situation analysis to understand and illustrate the characteristics, opportunities and strategy of Georgia as a tourism destination.

Key element 02

Identification of the 7 most relevant post-pandemic tourism trends that would affect growth.

Key element 03

Thorough competitor analysis of the 3 most prominent competitive destinations across 8 themes, following consultation with local stakeholders.

Key element 04

Selection and analysis of 18 best practices from a pool of approximately 100 cases, covering nine categories.

Key element 05

Holistic action plan around four strategic pillars with B2C and B2B engagement.

Results

These outcomes were attained through the collaborative efforts of our team:

01

The benchmarking report is facilitating the adoption of best practices that is contributing to a more sustainable recovery.

02

Our roadmap towards faster recovery is increasing the resilience of the local businesses and improves Georgia’s competitiveness.

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