Marketing of the Black Sea Resorts

: Batumi : a success story?

Abstract

The Black Sea Resort of Ajara in Georgia is a famous destination in the region. It started developing as a European city in the mid- 19th century when Nobles initiated oil transportation through Batumi port in the capital of Ajara. Batumi gained importance and became an industrial and touristic center in the region. However, the development was hampered by Soviets and later on by corrupt government regime. Since 2003, Ajara started its rebirth and repositioning strategy. The place had undergone a healthy transformation and invested heavily to improve the attractiveness of the region both locally and internationally. This dissertation provides an overview of the development processes in Ajara that led to the success of the region, to new investments and attractions, international hotels, and maximum number of tourists throughout the history in 2012. The government is approached as ‘’managers’’ of the product (Ajara); as in any company, right leadership and vision emergence is crucially important. The dissertation presents a narrative and quantitative analysis for the repositioning strategy of Batumi and the Ajara region as perceived by different stakeholders: local residents, Georgian nationals, foreign tourists, public officials and foreign investors. Furthermore, the case study allows to explore in depth the strategic decision making and ‘’product’’ management with historical, cultural and political assets in the modern world.

Date of Award	10 Jul 2013
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Pedro Celeste (Supervisor)