Annotation. In 2020, the world faced a new challenge. The coronavirus, which in a few days turned into a pandemic, completely changed human consciousness and lifestyle. The pandemic also affected the tourism sector, which led to some changes. In the conditions of the pandemic, the borders in Georgia were closed, as a result of which Georgian citizens were restricted from traveling abroad. The closure of the borders prompted the development of domestic tourism in Georgia. Most popular became Ecotourism trips to the mountainous regions. The article examines the features of the growth of tourist flows on the example of Tusheti as a result of restrictions during a pandemic. After the spread of the Covid-19, domestic tourism has become the most interesting and developing direction of tourism. Almost all the states tried to solve the economic and social problems caused by the closed borders at the expense of domestic tourism. The role of domestic tourism in the economy is great. It is especially important to develop domestic tourism and establish a culture of traveling within the country, because as the Corona virus has shown us, the modern world is full of surprises, so to maintain the sustainability of tourism. I would like to point out that the development of domestic ecotourism is especially important for the development of peripheral regions, where lower-income people live compared to other large regions, whose living conditions are quite harsh, they have to solve quite severe problems at the beginning of each tourist season. This article clearly discusses the problem of low education, which hinders the development of domestic tourism in Georgia and the growth of economic income of the population living in tourist areas. To investigate this problem, we selected the method of quantitative research and qualitative analysis. A group of people who traveled to Tusheti in the summer of 2020 were selected for the study.

Key Words: Ecotourism, Development of domestic tourism, Domestic tourism educationCOVID 19 

Introduction:

The impact of the coronavirus on tourism and related sectors has been hard. The pandemic had a negative impact on all sectors of the economy, especially in tourism, epidemiological fears and closed borders have paralyzed this economy field. According to the information provided by the Georgian National Tourism Administration, tourist flows have decreased by 0.7% only in February, The damage caused by the pandemic has not been determined yet, as we still have to fight with the virus and live with the restrictions. Due to the current situation, many countries retain hope for the development of domestic tourism. The National Statistics office of Georgia has not yet published the statistics of the second quarter of 2020 local tourism, although compared to the first quarter, the number of tourist arrivals will certainly be reduced.

 The aim of our study was to determine the impact of the pandemic on the development of domestic tourism, as it is not yet possible to calculate the damage caused by the pandemic to the tourism industry in Georgia. In our opinion, it is quite relevant and interesting to understand the opinion of domestic tourists towards the ecotourism routes in Georgia. Our main goal was to find out if local tourists would travel to Tusheti if was not pandemic. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), international tourist traffic is reduced by up to 3%, which indicates that revenues from international travel will be reduced by 30-50 billion dollars. According to the same organization, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region suffered the most, where the number of international tourist trips fell by 9-12%. 

Main Text

In September 2020, the UNWTO published a BRIEFING NOTE – TOURISM AND COVID-19 outlining the domestic tourism development methodology and its importance for maintaining economic sustainability in a pandemic. Pandemics, border closures, and routine changes have caused many psychological and social problems in humans. At the initial stage of the pandemic, people were locked up, but after a while, people woke up to the desire to travel, so they started looking for safe tourist places inside the country, which led to the movement of domestic tourists. Burton Katie’s article  „When the borders shut” discusses the psychological changes that have led to the closure of borders and the interest in tourist destinations within the country. Many researchers consider domestic tourism as one of the most important tools for the development of the country. In many European countries, domestic tourism is a major source of income for the country as more and more people try to get to know their country better. The educational institution teaches young people the culture of getting to know and traveling their own country. For a developing country like Georgia, the development of domestic tourism is vital. The development of domestic tourism leads to the improvement of the social and economic situation of the country's population, it contributes to the development of roads and infrastructure in places of interest and inaccessibility.

 When talking about the importance of ecotourism development, the most important issue is to raise the awareness and education of the local population in this area. Both formal and non-formal education are essential to increase the population's awareness and education, leading to a love of traveling within the country and protecting the nature. „Ecotourism as a learning tool for sustainable development. The case of Monviso Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, Italy“ It is an interesting research and article in this direction. ( Mondino E. Beery T. 2018)

Ecotourism guarantees the sustainable use of environmental resources, while generating economic opportunities for the local people (Farrell & Runyan 2001; Bhattacharya, Chowdhury and Sarkar, 2011).

 Rob Gilbert interestingly discusses ecotourism and education in his article. The first issue he discusses in this article is the environment as a subject to be studied and explored as an independent subject.The second issue that the author discusses is education which includes knowledge about the environment around us. The third issue that the author addresses is nature as a wealth in our environment. All three types of education are essential in ecotourism in order to preserve and protect the environment around us. The author also attaches great importance to the importance of informal education in ecotourism, which in itself is an important issue for our article. (Gilbert R. 2003)

 The  article of Sander B. “The Importance of Education in Ecotourism Ventures: lessons from Rara Avis ecolodge, Costa Rica”  - is an interesting study in the field of ecotourism education. Where the importance of formal and non-formal education is studied in detail. The article discusses the methods and practical examples of ecotourism education, which in itself has helped us a lot in understanding the problems in the reality of Georgia.

We have reviewed all the important articles in the field of ecotourism education, we have analyzed the importance of education in the development of ecotourism, which is a prerequisite for the development of mountainous regions.

The development of domestic tourism contributes to the development of rural and agro-tourism, thanks to which people living in the highland region are given the opportunity to receive additional income in their places of residence. The importance of domestic tourism in the conditions of the pandemic was especially important. The borders were closed in Georgia, which forced people to travel inside the country.

 One of the aims of our research was to show the impact of closed borders on the development of domestic tourism. In the conditions of the closed borders during the summer season, many resorts and tourist destinations were given the opportunity to continue their business activities at the expense of receiving domestic tourists. For the development of domestic tourism and the formation of a domestic tourism culture among the population, it is necessary for the state to develop appropriate educational programs that will shape the culture and awareness of traveling within the country for the next generation.

  Although many scientific articles have been devoted to the impact of the pandemic on tourism, no article or study has yet been found that directly examines the impact of the pandemic on domestic tourism, which in turn underscores the importance of our research.

   In our research, the target group was people who visited Tusheti in the summer of 2020, 32 people were interviewed by a snow ball principle, they were sent a pre-designed questionnaire that included a questionnaire. Each module of the questionnaire consistently allowed us to identify the main provocative factors that contributed to the travel of tourists to Tusheti. According to the survey, 40% of people traveling to Tusheti believe that the pandemic facilitated their arrival in the region and that if not  the closed borders they would not have traveled to Tusheti, which was  unexpected news for us. People  living in Tusheti who are in the tourism business said in an individual survey that they predicted a fall of the tourist season, This is evidenced by the fact that the tourist season started later, because they did not expect high interest of the local population in the tourist routes of Tusheti.

 The seventh module of the questionnaire included a question – "In your opinion, does Tusheti need to provide more information to domestic tourists in the development of ecotourism?"- 100% of respondents believe that the popularity of Tusheti ecotourism routes will increase among domestic tourists if they are provided with more information about ecotourism routes in the region. The research showed that it is possible to increase tourist flows in Tusheti with more interest from the local population, however, it should be noted that tourists named difficult roads as one of the most challenging factor to travel to Tusheti, the rehabilitation of roads will also contribute to the growth of tourist flows in Tusheti.

  Our research shows that the pandemic contributed to the development of domestic tourism in Georgia,. Module 5 which included question -If the borders were not closed in the country, would you spend summer vacations in Tusheti? 56.3% of the respondents indicated that they would not travel in Tusheti, if borders were not closed.

 One of the goals of the research was to determine the interest of tourists visiting Tusheti to travel again in the future. To the question - will you travel to Tusheti again in the future? 62.5% of the respondents indicated that they will travel to Tusheti again, which indicates the uniqueness of the region. Based on the results of this module, the problem of informatics in the population of Georgia was once again identified.

  Our small research has revealed new opportunities for the development of  domestic tourism in conditions of pandemics. The research also revealed the problems that exist in the development of ecotourism routes in Tusheti. The study revealed that the main obstacles to the formation of ecotourism routes in Tusheti are lack of information, low level of education in the field of domestic ecotourism and faulty roads. 

Conclusion

The pandemic has affected all sectors of the economy. Its consequences for the tourism industry are especially dangerous. Coronavirus put in front of the World a lot of new challenges, Georgia is still struggling to maintain economic stability, which in turn involves investing more resources in the development of domestic tourism. Our research has shown that there is a tourism resource in the country that can provide relief from the critical situation and have a positive impact on the incomes of the local population. It should be noted that despite the pandemic, the tourist season in Tusheti took place and the population was able to earn some income. Of course, open borders would be an opportunity for them to earn more income, but the development of domestic tourism in the face of pandemics has made a major contribution to maintaining economic stability. In our opinion, after the epidemic, the necessary tourist information should be provided to the local population, as well as tourist routes should be created based on the opportunities of the local population.

The Involvement of state services and the effectiveness of the measures taken by them for the education of the population and the formation of a culture and awareness of traveling within the country are very important for the development of domestic ecotourism. As discussed in Sheyvens R. 1999. „Ecotourism and the empowerment of Local communities” – A local community which is optimistic about the future, has faith in the abilities of its residents, is relatively self-reliant and demonstrates pride in traditions and culture can be said to be psychologically powerful. In many small-scale, unindustrialised societies, preservation of tradition is extremely important in terms of maintaining a group sense of self-esteem and well being. (Mansperger, 1995). 

“Putting tourism on a sustainable path is major challenge, one that also presents a significant opportunity” Klaus Tὄpfer, UNEP Executive Director 

References:

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