When we speak of Georgia here, we mean the country in the Caucasus Mountains, not the state in south-eastern USA, just to be clear. In fact, when we speak of that Georgia, we’re also talking about one of the oldest countries in the world, a nation of ancient traditions with roots all the way back to the cradle of civilisation. Not surprisingly, many of the things we know so well and sometimes associate with other countries, including Spain, actually trace their origins to the region within modern-day and ancient Georgia.

These include wine, for one, while Georgia also has one of the world’s oldest legacies when it comes to cheesemaking, metalwork, pottery, jewellery, leatherware, and shoemaking, not to mention the fearsome swordsmanship of the Caucasus region. This land that is so rich and green features staggeringly tall and beautiful mountain ranges, cascading rivers, grand lakes and forests, as well as a subtropical coast. Georgia is a land of timeless traditions, and in its coastal gem of Batumi they come face to face with the 21st century taking shape before your eyes.

Europe’s Last Undiscovered Paradise

Yes, there is much to discover and experience in this as yet largely unexplored nation on the edge of Europe. Georgia is European in culture, but with an exotic admixture of Russia, the Soviet Union, and the Middle East. One of the oldest Christian nations in the world is also a meeting point of cultures that shows in its cuisine, architecture, music, folklore, faces, and mentality. It is the precise mix of these diverse elements that makes the country distinct and uniquely fascinating. That and its stupendously beautiful landscapes.

And then there is Batumi, a place that has not only put itself on the map as an increasingly exciting destination, but is also drawing more and more attention to Georgia itself, and the many pleasures hidden within its hinterland. In less than a decade, this seaside city has transformed itself from an ageing Soviet backwater with distant memories of faded glory to one of Europe’s most exciting new resort cities. To answer the question ‘why?’, one need only take a look at pictures of this emerging powerhouse. Where once there were crumbling concrete Soviet towers there now stands a growing collection of modern hotels, apartment buildings, and office blocks whose sheer architectural exuberance cannot fail to impress.

Batumi is a place that is evolving, growing, and exploring new possibilities, just as those who visit it open the door to new experiences at the meeting point of two continents, two worlds. You don’t have to travel as far as Thailand or Bali to discover new territory. In fact, it is far fresher an experience than the well-travelled paths that lead to those two classics, yet while being excitingly new, Batumi is already a classic in the making. The city twinned with Marbella is every bit as ambitious as its Spanish counterpart, and no longer depends upon just regional tourists to fuel its boom.

Batumi is a new Marbella or Miami in the making, but in its own way. It has beaches bordering the balmy waters of the Black Sea; tall five-star resort hotels and luxurious penthouses looking far out over that sea and the lush subtropical coastline that it extends along; lively casinos, a vibrant café and nightlife scene, and of course the introduction to Georgian cuisine, with its unique but delicious specialities such as Khachapuri, a combination of pastry, cheese, eggs, and spices that will have pizza lovers in ecstasy. Add to this, wonderful soups, stews, vegetarian dishes, and heavenly dumplings filled with savoury meat and sauce. Georgian cuisine is the coming together of cultures, made to be enjoyed in the homeland of winemaking. Not surprisingly, Georgians will claim that their Chacha (a clear spirit not for the fainthearted) is the mother of all brandies.

Take Your Pick

Batumi also has its share of bars and nightclubs and an elegant turn-of-the-century district full of parks, avenues, and pretty buildings. You will find attractions such as a cable car that takes you from the shoreside over the city to a local mountain from which the views are immense, reaching up to the cliffside botanical gardens that are among the most beautiful you will find anywhere in the world, or you may just prefer to enter the real old town and rub shoulders with locals in fresh produce markets, at charmingly European/Middle Eastern cafés, and wander down busy streets where middle aged men still play backgammon most days.

Take a trip further inland and you will marvel at the vast mountain ranges of protected forest where you can rent an authentic cabin and spend your time hiking into the hills, and, at the right time of year (typically December to April), there are the thrilling ski resorts to enjoy. Batumi is set on the healing waters of the Black Sea, famous for both health and leisure escapes. Amid the various water parks and water sports facilities, its shoreline is dotted with cafés, restaurants, and secluded summer bungalows.

Batumi is a place that offers so much: you just have to choose the part of the menu that is for you, be it the casino, nightlife, beaches, dining, culture or heading into those alluring green mountains inland – or even the ski resorts beyond them. From here it’s all in your hands, a whole new country waiting to be explored.

The 2024 Georgia International Tourism Film Festival

This event, which forms part of an international network of festivals that highlight storytelling as an increasingly prominent way of promoting tourist destinations around the world, was the second edition held in Georgia.

The inaugural festival, the first of its kind in the country, was hosted in October 2023 by Tskaltubo. Formerly renowned throughout the Soviet Union for its curative waters, this spa resort near the city of Kutaisi is now undergoing a revival, and the festival underlined its potential.

The second edition was held this October in vibrant Batumi, organised with the support of the local authorities and the central government, keen as they are to develop sustainable tourism that is also sensitive to local culture and communities.

Tourism Promotion Through Storytelling

Promoting Georgia and its diverse regions and attractions in this way was therefore the central theme to the storytelling that takes the form of promotional videos, interactive footage, and even short films that highlight a destination’s character and appeal, not in the conventional advertising/marketing manner, but through a more personal sense of immersion.

The result is a format that feels more like a short documentary, less polished and ‘salesy’, and designed to make you feel like you’re there. Festivals of this kind are effectively the Oscars of this fast-emerging sector that is beginning to dominate tourism promotion. Andalucía is one location that has it down to a fine art, but the format is beginning to sprout new creative talent around the world, and stimulating it is another objective of the event that drew hundreds of industry specialists, press, tourism officials, and local politicians to the two-day festival in Batumi.

Batumi Gitff 2024

The Georgia International Tourism Film Festival is hosted in different cities each year, and this year was held within the elegant setting of the Adjara Art Museum, with the full support of the Ministry of Culture, Education, and Sport of the region of Adjara, of which Batumi is the capital. The event drew local and international media coverage, and winners were announced in a variety of categories, including short films, vlogs, promotional and corporate videos, and innovative digital productions, marking a new era in showcasing and communicating the pleasures and experiences that both novel and established destinations have to offer.

Tourism promotion has entered a new era, and events such as this showcase the best of an industry in full expansion carrying the task of promoting travel that helps to develop local economies in a culturally and environmentally sustainable manner.