Analyzing Tourism Influence on Agricultural Products’ Market: A Case Study of the Mestia Municipality, Georgia

Year 2019, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 98 - 105, 27.12.2019

Mariam Sharia

Abstract

Mestia
Municipality is a high mountain district of north-west Georgia, is located in the Greater Caucasus
Mountain range. On the one hand, tourism is relatively new and rapidly growing
economic activity in Mestia, but on the other, traditional economic activity of
the population is agriculture. Analyzing linkages between tourism and
agriculture is a vital part of sustainable development process of the
municipality. The purpose of this paper is exploring and analyzing links
between of tourism and changed/diversified agricultural market in Mestia
municipality. The paper applies a triangulation method – qualitative in-depth
interviews and desk research. MAXQDA is used for data processing. In-depth
interviews were conducted with two targeted group: 1) Representatives of local
community-driven economic activities; 2) Representatives of the tourism
industry who operate in Mestia municipality. In total, 59 interviews were
collected. The fieldwork revealed three main tendencies: 1) Tourism has impact
on agricultural product’s market in Mestia municipality. Agricultural products
were sold mainly outside municipality before developing tourism.  Now, tourism
has created a great chance to realize productions inside region.2) With the development
of tourism, agricultural
cultivated lands are decreasing in Mestia. 3) Rural tourism is emerging in the
villages of Mestia Municipality.

Keywords

tourism-agriculture nexuses, Mestia, agriculture, rural tourism

Project Number

(SRNSFG) [FR17_485]

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