Tourist market requirements and issues related to air transportation

Levan Soroznishvili, MA course Speciality: Organisational management N. E. Jukovsky National Air – Space University “Hi”

Georgia as an attractive tourist country is less-known to Europe. The country is not identified as a traveling tourist place.

Neither Georgia, nor any of its cultural sights are famous. Political situation may be considered as the only exception. It’s noteworthy, that the level of information on Georgia differs in European countries.
Objective information is one of the most important issues defining Georgia as a tourist place by potential tourists. Majority of visitors nowadays, especially package tourists, use air transport services. While making decision one of the most important issues for the tourist is the comfort and suitability of a flight schedule. Arriving and leaving Georgia may be related to number of problems:
• Flight connecting to existing and potential tourist markets
For the past five years regular air flights between Georgia and Western Europe have been established. There are regular flights in London, Zurich, Vienna and Frankfurt. Little time ago flights to Paris and Prague were added. In spite of the fact, majority of tourist face transactions that makes the flight duration longer. Besides, due to rare flights traveling is limited.
• Distance to international tourist markets
Today’s tourist markets (mainly Western Europe) have 4 hours flight distance from Georgia, although total traveling duration exceeds it twice. Potential US and East Asia market introduction to our country is related to a long and difficult enough traveling flight.
• Uncomfortable flight arrangements
Flights are conduced mainly at night, or early in the morning. If we consider time zone differences, we’ll clearly see that this arrangement does not support attracting passengers. Besides, flight arrangement and frequency often changes.
• Not sufficient regional air connections
Georgia more or less has air connections to Russia and Europe. Although number of flights in the region of South Caucasus and Near East is little. This causes difficulties to enter some potential markets and arrange regional combined tours.
• Disagreement between air companies
The disagreement between air companies on operating hampers flight frequency growth. Aviation market is not suitable and transparent for hiring. Additional aspect to the problem is instability and safety related issues generally in the region of Caucasus and ex USSR countries. Full and positive information on Georgia does not reach the clients from the Western Europe. It’s not surprising that our country has an image of instable country in the West.
Taking all the above mentioned into consideration, difficulty of attracting potential clients in the country is natural. Visa requirements as a rule are considered to be one of the hampering issues for travelers. As in this case it is impossible to make spontaneous decisions on traveling. Although one of the important issues is the physiological condition. A visitor has a feeling that she/he will not be well greeted in the country.
Besides, visa fee for an individual visitor makes up 80 USD that is quite high for an avarice visitor, furthermore if the service he/she pays for is vague for him.
Ther are problems concerning Visa proceures’ transparancy. Continiuation of 14 days Visa is quite difficult and expensive process.
Travelers express their discontent concerning customs office nontransparent procedures regarding taking souvenirs out of a country. Quite often foreign visitors face corruption problems at customs offices. Unattractive image of Georgia is the main challenge for attracting potential travelers.
Introduced tour operator
Price
Marketing
Identifying flight
Transportation problems
Inadequate advartaising
Important challenge to future market growth is that the Georgian tourist product is not sufficiently advertised in foreign countries. This is the reason to the lack of market segments with Georgian tourist products. There are number of encouraging events that would assist improving currant situation but unfortunately they are practically ignored.
• Marketing research of a tourist market does not exist
Serious market research has not launched in a country yet, due to which there is no systemic information on the following issues: special market, potential clients’ analyses.
• Country’s positive image promotion is not carried out
Effective activities are not carried out in order to create attractive image of Georgia. Corporate sign showing brand does not exist. Broad advertising campaign hasn’t been carried out. The world’s developed or developing countries spend millions of dollars in this direction, increase number of visitors as well as incomes.
In order to increase tourist flow a country needs to make not an ordinary advertisement, but an aggressive advertisement. This implies that Georgia should publicize its tourist and resort potential not only at the exhibitions and fairs where it had been invited, but also at the places, where it is not expected.
There is a conditional international standard. Namely, attracting one foreign visitor who spends approximately USD 1000 in a country. The government should spent at least 5 Dollars on each of this visitor in order to create a positive image of a country.
According to the above mentioned standard, Georgia should spent USD 2 million per year for making advertising campaign (GEL 4 million).
It is important to arrange issues according to priorities:
• Promoting country positive (Tourist) image and marketing;
• Maintaining variety of tourist products;
• Solving safety issues;
• Preparing competent personnel
• Developing infrastructure, maintaining hotel and transportation capacities;
Tourist market requirements should be analyzed according to country’s general environment.
Namely, when relative prices do not change, number of visitors is stable while general real usage increases by 1%; number of visitors increases by 4 % when general real usage increases by 2,5. 5 % growth – 10 % increase; when general real usage is less than 1 %, number of visitors decrease.