Paper Title
Increasing the Flows of Tourists and Contributing to Tourism Revenue Generation in Communities of Imereti and Racha Via Advancing the Route of Jewish Cultural Heritage
Abstract
The history of Georgia exemplifies centuries-old peaceful interrelation of two ancient nations - Georgian and Jewish. Despite their assimilation, Georgian Jews have maintained their religion, traditions and original culture for centuries, though their mass emigration to Israel took place in the 70s and 80s. Nowadays the situation is dramatically changed, the number of international visitors coming from Israel is steadily increasing every year.125 319 travelers visited Georgia in 2017, which is 36% more than in 2016 (92 215 visitors) and among the top 15 visitor countries, Israel is the 7th. The article deals with the study results about the Jewish cultural heritage sites in Imereti and Racha communities. The target locations involved in such routes included archaeological sites, synagogues, and cemeteries, ritual baths, Jewish quarters, monuments and memorials and libraries. The research project consisted of three stages: 1. Pre-selection of resources and targeting the main communities of Imereti and Racha. 2. Preparing and analyzing the statistical data/photo and video materials/infoand 3. Working out the action plan for advancing the route of Jewish cultural heritage sites and destinations to foster tourism development at a regional level that on the other hand is the main trigger for socio-economic well -being of the local population.
Keywords - Jewish Cultural Heritage, Kutaisi, Oni, Tourism