{"id":50847,"date":"2022-01-06T09:38:24","date_gmt":"2022-01-06T08:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/?p=50847"},"modified":"2022-01-22T14:21:34","modified_gmt":"2022-01-22T13:21:34","slug":"tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/","title":{"rendered":"Tourism rescues Omalo, Georgia, from oblivion"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tourism
A man is walking his dog in lower Omalo. Photo credit: Tomer Ifrah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T<\/span>hrough the Greater Caucasus mountain range that forms the northern belt of Georgia, the slim road of the Abano pass cuts a treacherous path. In fact the term \u201croad\u201d is a little generous; for 45 miles, this dirt track cut out of the edge of the mountainside swells and contracts as it snakes upwards to a height of 2,000 metres. The sheer drop along the road edge claims several lives every year, and its reputation was cemented when it featured in the BBC World\u2019s Most Dangerous Road documentary<\/a>\u00a0in 2013. But this is the only route to reach the villages of Tusheti, a region tucked deep within these mountains. At the end of the pass, the mountains give way to a grassy plateau as Omalo, Tusheti\u2019s largest village and administrative centre, comes into view.<\/p>\n

From June to September, Georgians travel along this road from their homes in Kakheti to escape the lowland heat and spend the season in family homes dotted across Tusheti\u2019s 49 villages. For the rest of the year,the Abano pass is engulfed in snow, with temperatures dropping to -30C, cutting Tusheti off from the rest of the country.<\/p>\n

The recent upswing in tourism in Georgia has boosted what is a small and slow-growing economy, and for places like Tusheti, it\u2019s filling a gap left by the shrinking shepherding tradition that\u2019s been the core of Tush culture for centuries. For hikers and adventure seekers, their journey begins with braving the road to enjoy the hiking and wild beauty of Tusheti, and to stay in traditional wooden houses in Omalo or camp in the mountains.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was little, the houses in Omalo weren\u2019t as big as they are now,\u201d says 27-year-old Keti Tauberidze, a medical student from Tbilisi, gesturing to the few wooden homes nearby that share this hillside. Born in Akhmeta, an administrative town in the lowlands close to where the Abano pass begins its ascent, Tauberidze has been coming here every summer since she was a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandfather was born here and he built this house,\u201d she says. \u201cI think it\u2019s fun when tourists come here; I like the chance to talk to foreigners, and their presence gives us jobs. Well, not me personally,\u201d she smiles, \u201cbut others, sure. Our nature here is wild and unspoiled, and I don\u2019t want that to change.\u201d Their house is simple and sparsely furnished, including a slim, carved wooden bed built by Tauberidze\u2019s great-grandmother.<\/p>\n

This is an excerpt from an article by Nadia Beard, originally published by The Guardian<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Adventure tourists have thrown the remotest mountain region of the country an economic lifeline \u2013 but at what cost to ancient traditions and customs? The gains of tourism by way of new jobs and economic growth are tinged with the knowledge that part of their cultural heritage will be lost as the transactional nature of tourism is at odds with the hospitality for which Georgia is famed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":50848,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1514,131,16,130,3755,535],"tags":[116],"yoast_head":"\nTourism rescues Omalo, Georgia, from oblivion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Adventure tourists have thrown the remotest mountain region of the country an economic lifeline \u2013 but at what cost to ancient traditions and customs? The gains of tourism by way of new jobs and economic growth are tinged with the knowledge that part of their cultural heritage will be lost as the transactional nature of tourism is at odds with the hospitality for which Georgia is famed.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tourism rescues Omalo, Georgia, from oblivion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Adventure tourists have thrown the remotest mountain region of the country an economic lifeline \u2013 but at what cost to ancient traditions and customs? The gains of tourism by way of new jobs and economic growth are tinged with the knowledge that part of their cultural heritage will be lost as the transactional nature of tourism is at odds with the hospitality for which Georgia is famed.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Travindy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/travindy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/travindy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-01-06T08:38:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-01-22T13:21:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Georgia.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1730\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Travindy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@travindy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Travindy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The Guardian\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Travindy\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/79576b26c03e84ac969c6cf7ad8118bb\"},\"headline\":\"Tourism rescues Omalo, Georgia, from oblivion\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-06T08:38:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-22T13:21:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/\"},\"wordCount\":456,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"adventure travel\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Adventure travel\",\"Community\",\"Destinations\",\"Environmental issues\",\"Heritage\",\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/\",\"name\":\"Tourism rescues Omalo, Georgia, from oblivion\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-06T08:38:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-22T13:21:34+00:00\",\"description\":\"Adventure tourists have thrown the remotest mountain region of the country an economic lifeline \u2013 but at what cost to ancient traditions and customs? The gains of tourism by way of new jobs and economic growth are tinged with the knowledge that part of their cultural heritage will be lost as the transactional nature of tourism is at odds with the hospitality for which Georgia is famed.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tourism rescues Omalo, Georgia, from oblivion\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Travindy\",\"description\":\"sustainable tourism consulting, news and resources\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Travindy\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cropped-travindy-logo-square.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cropped-travindy-logo-square.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Travindy\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/travindy\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Travindy\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/79576b26c03e84ac969c6cf7ad8118bb\",\"name\":\"Travindy\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e8e24b511c9178e320b9eb2226dadb1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e8e24b511c9178e320b9eb2226dadb1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Travindy\"},\"description\":\"Travindy is an independent website featuring news and opinion on all issues to do with tourism and sustainability. Written primarily for an industry audience, our aim is to support the transformation of the sector into one that is regenerative, restorative and fully inclusive.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/travindy\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/travindy\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/travel\/2021\/nov\/26\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion-photo-essay\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tourism rescues Omalo, Georgia, from oblivion","description":"Adventure tourists have thrown the remotest mountain region of the country an economic lifeline \u2013 but at what cost to ancient traditions and customs? The gains of tourism by way of new jobs and economic growth are tinged with the knowledge that part of their cultural heritage will be lost as the transactional nature of tourism is at odds with the hospitality for which Georgia is famed.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tourism rescues Omalo, Georgia, from oblivion","og_description":"Adventure tourists have thrown the remotest mountain region of the country an economic lifeline \u2013 but at what cost to ancient traditions and customs? The gains of tourism by way of new jobs and economic growth are tinged with the knowledge that part of their cultural heritage will be lost as the transactional nature of tourism is at odds with the hospitality for which Georgia is famed.","og_url":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/","og_site_name":"Travindy","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/travindy","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/travindy","article_published_time":"2022-01-06T08:38:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-01-22T13:21:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2280,"height":1730,"url":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Georgia.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Travindy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@travindy","twitter_site":"@Travindy","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"The Guardian","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/"},"author":{"name":"Travindy","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/79576b26c03e84ac969c6cf7ad8118bb"},"headline":"Tourism rescues Omalo, Georgia, from oblivion","datePublished":"2022-01-06T08:38:24+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-22T13:21:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/"},"wordCount":456,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#organization"},"keywords":["adventure travel"],"articleSection":["Adventure travel","Community","Destinations","Environmental issues","Heritage","Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/","url":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/","name":"Tourism rescues Omalo, Georgia, from oblivion","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-01-06T08:38:24+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-22T13:21:34+00:00","description":"Adventure tourists have thrown the remotest mountain region of the country an economic lifeline \u2013 but at what cost to ancient traditions and customs? The gains of tourism by way of new jobs and economic growth are tinged with the knowledge that part of their cultural heritage will be lost as the transactional nature of tourism is at odds with the hospitality for which Georgia is famed.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2022\/01\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tourism rescues Omalo, Georgia, from oblivion"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/","name":"Travindy","description":"sustainable tourism consulting, news and resources","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Travindy","url":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cropped-travindy-logo-square.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cropped-travindy-logo-square.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Travindy"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/travindy","https:\/\/twitter.com\/Travindy"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/79576b26c03e84ac969c6cf7ad8118bb","name":"Travindy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e8e24b511c9178e320b9eb2226dadb1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e8e24b511c9178e320b9eb2226dadb1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Travindy"},"description":"Travindy is an independent website featuring news and opinion on all issues to do with tourism and sustainability. Written primarily for an industry audience, our aim is to support the transformation of the sector into one that is regenerative, restorative and fully inclusive.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/travindy","https:\/\/twitter.com\/travindy"],"url":"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/travel\/2021\/nov\/26\/tourism-rescues-omalo-georgia-from-oblivion-photo-essay"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50847"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50847"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50849,"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50847\/revisions\/50849"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}