The Role of Wine in Tourism Development in Kakheti Region

Abstract

This article highlights the role of promoting wine and winemaking in tourism development in Kakheti region; the major focus falls on the modern trends in the development of wine tourism as well as on the current situation in the direction of the development of wine tourism in Georgia. The article provides a brief history of viticulture and winemaking and discusses its role in the country's economy. Due to the conditions of world globalization, it is of particular importance for Georgia to develop such industries that will integrate the country's economy into the world economic market and produce a product that will be cheap and highly competitive in the world market. The article focuses on the role of the state government in the development of wine tourism. World wine production has been increasing for years and more and more new consumers join in every year. As in all other fields, certain trends have developed over time in winemaking, and the industry thrives to cater for the need of different directions. Tourism development further adds on the direction and role of wine. Georgia has the opportunity to develop and make wine tourism a significant source of income. Resources and opportunities available in the country determine the role of wine in tourism. It is a part of culture and profitable income for different countries of the world. The 21st century is a great challenge for world winemaking and tourism. In this century, the fields faced such problems as global economic crisis, pandemic, etc. All these problems created new challenges for the industries, therefore the world had to adapt with the help of modern technologies and change approaches. It is reasonable to say that Georgia has the greatest potential for the development of wine tourism business – it has resources, environment and physical conditions, and a number of activities are carried out to promote it. The development of wine tourism is important for the economy of the country and it includes the full development of the region, the creation of jobs in rural areas and raising the standard of living in the region. Keywords: tourism, wine industry, marketing activity. Viticulture, winemaking.