BUSINESS
GEORGIA TODAY MARCH 6 - 8, 2018
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Number of Travelers in Mountainous Adjara up by 98% BY THEA MORRISON
I Ministry of Economy Fixed on Pension Reform BY NIA PATARAIA
T
he Georgian government says it will not take expert advice about the Accumulating Pension Program. Deputy Minister of Economy, Eka Mikabadze, made a clear statement on the TV program ‘Analytics,’ to the effect that the government will not
consider reviewing the obligatory pension system. “Income tax reduction and review of the system's obligations will not happen,” Mikabadze said, highlighting that pension contributions are not taxes, neither by the definition of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nor by the Georgian legislative framework. “The pension contribution should not be considered a tax. It is a means for
employees to make savings, which will later be used for his/her own good," she said. Mikabadze went on to note several reasons why the pension contribution should not be considered as a tax, in particular that the pension contribution will be transferred directly into property and that it will be reflected on a person’s own bank account - accordingly, it will not be merged with the budget or treasury.
n 2017, the number of visitors in mountainous Adjara increased significantly. Last year, 46,592 tourists visited family-guest houses, tourist sites and museums on the popular tourist routes of mountainous Adjara, which is 98% more than the data of 2016. The Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara reports that the most visited places in mountainous Adjara were Keda –204% increase, Khulo –up by 7% and Machakhela –71% increase. “Most people, 29,298 tourists, visited wine cellars and tourist places in Keda, 18,626 visitors went to Khulo and 7,668 to Machakhela,” the Department reports. According to statistics, one of the most visited places in the Adjara region was
museums, where the number of visitors increased by 32% in 2017 compared to 2016. As reported, 15,286 visited Adjara’s museums last year. The number of visitors also increased in food and tourist facilities. The Head of Adjara’s Tourism Department, Sulkhan Glonti, said that last year the office organized 12 info tours and introduced Adjara’s touristic potential to about 180 people, excluding trade fairs and other programs abroad. “Also, we organized trainings for guides, which brought positive results. This year, we are going to continue working in this direction and we hope that the number of travelers in mountainous Adjara will further increase,” he added. The statistics of the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara is based on the data provided by family-guest houses, cellars, catering facilities, museums and folk ensembles.
Photo: Mountainous Adjara. Source: fortuna.ge