Value Chain Analysis of adventure tourism: a case study of Ajara Autonomous Republic (Georgia)

Abstract

Ajara Autonomous Republic, both within the country and in the world tourist market, has always been positioned as a maritime tourist destination. However, over recent years diversification of tourist products and appealing new market segments have become one of the main priorities of the tourism development strategy of Ajara Autonomous Republic. As a result, the government is creating an appropriate tourist infrastructure, especially in rural areas to support developing such tourist products as adventure and eco-tourism. Adventure tourism can deliver significant benefits at the local level and it is a developing segment in Ajara. Creating adventure tourism products requires integration of various interdependent services. A tourism value chain is defined as a system that describes the cooperation of private and state sectors in providing resources, which creates costs and adds value through various processes and delivers final products to visitors. The purpose of the research was to determine weak links in the value chain and creating a comprehensive value chain model to form the competitive adventure tourism product. The research involved all actors, which operate in the tourism sector. Based on the results of the survey, in the value chain, the food link turned out to be the weakest, whereas the accommodation with the highest share was distinguished in the visitor spending structure. Overall, the cost of the adventure tour will be affordable for both international and domestic tourists. At this stage, government support and participation are crucial in the formation of adventure tourism infrastructure. Through using the case study and qualitative research methods, we tried to identify challenges to the growth of adventure tourism in Ajara and developed recommendations to overcome these challenges.