Impact Stories

Green Tourism in Georgia

Georgia, located in the Caucasus, is a country attracting over 9 million tourists1 a year to see its diverse natural and cultural heritage. The tourism industry is a major contributor to the region’s economy, contributing more than 21,6% to its GDP2. 

As an increasing number of tourists become aware of their carbon footprint, and are more conscious of the travel choices, so too has the demand for environmentally friendly accommodation started to rise across the country.  

Meeting this demand, George Kadaraia, the CEO of Angelter, decided to build an energy efficient and eco-friendly, 4-storey, 31 room premium hotel in Zugdidi, located in the picturesque Samegrelo region in western Georgia.

 

 

“Our vision for the hotel was that Angelter stands out in the hotel industry and making it environmentally friendly was crucial to that vision. One of the initial challenges we realized, however, is that if we want to truly build something that is eco-friendly, we need to come up with energy efficient solutions, particularly for heating the building in winter,” explains George. 

Although the typical and cheapest means of providing heat in large buildings in Georgia is by using natural gas boilers, the company decided to seek the advice on the possible use of heat pumps, as a more eco-friendly and low emission alternative. 

That’s where the Green for Growth Fund’s Green Advisory Program stepped in. In partnership with Basisbank, the program provided tailored expert advice, supported by a grant, to Angelter, to design and install an efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Thanks to this support, Angelter was able to pay for the HVAC system, as well as the construction of the building which has efficient thermal characteristics, by using a loan from Basisbank, enabled by the GGF. In addition, staff received training on how to efficiently use and maintain the HVAC system.   

“Thanks to the loan and technical assistance we received, we expect to complete construction of the hotel in Autumn of 2022, and it is expected to become the most energy efficient building in the region,” remarks George proudly.  

Going forward, the company plans to install solar panels on the building, and use the produced energy for water heating, amongst other uses. There are even plans to add tours as part of their hotel services. 

“We want to be an attractive, comfortable and safe hotel for tourists, which we strongly believe will allow us to attract more customers and operate the hotel at full capacity,” concludes George proudly.