Georgia Pitches Itself as a Regional Hospitality Hub at Tbilisi Forum

Georgia's Minister of Infrastructure, Revaz Sokhadze, has launched the Hospitality Investment Forum Tbilisi 2026, an attempt to convert the country's tourism growth into committed hotel and real estate capital at a point when overall foreign direct investment remains weak.

The forum brought together international hotel operators, global hospitality brands, real estate developers, institutional investors and financial institutions alongside senior officials. Sokhadze described hospitality as one of the most dynamic and strategically important sectors of the Georgian economy - a framing that reflects both opportunity and a gap in the investment picture.

The numbers explain the push. Tourism receipts grew 6% in 2025 and services exports have been the strongest component of Georgia's external accounts, helping narrow the current account deficit to 2.6% of GDP. But net FDI inflows stayed subdued at 3.6% of GDP, and total FDI has fallen sharply this year. Georgia is generating tourist arrivals faster than it is generating the branded room stock and financing structures needed to capture the higher-value end of that demand, World Bank country data shows via the World Bank.

There are signs of movement. Eagle Hills, the Abu Dhabi developer, opened a sales office in Tbilisi in August 2026, and several international operators have been evaluating Black Sea coastal and Tbilisi city-centre sites. The pitch to them is a combination of low operating costs, a liberal visa regime, and a position on the Middle Corridor that is expected to increase business travel as freight and transit volumes rise. Details of the forum launch were reported by Caspian Post.

Investors will weigh that against the constraints. Georgia's political environment has weighed on Western institutional appetite, construction financing remains expensive with the policy rate elevated, and hotel returns depend on arrivals that are sensitive to regional security conditions. Growth is also expected to moderate to around 5% in 2026 from a stronger 2025, which tempers the demand assumptions underpinning new builds.

For the sector itself, the practical test is whether the forum produces signed management agreements and land transactions rather than memoranda. Georgia has run investment forums before without converting attendance into groundbreaking. The difference this time is a visible pipeline of infrastructure - the Anaklia deep-sea port, rail upgrades and the Black Sea energy cable - that gives hospitality investors a reason to believe the business-travel base will broaden beyond leisure arrivals.

Further Reading

• China Now Supplies Nearly Half of Georgia's Foreign Investment as Total FDI Falls 23%
• Georgia to Tender Anaklia Rail Link by End of October