A new Tbilisi forum runs 23 to 25 October, and the guest list is tour operators, hoteliers and investors

The three days are organised under the headings Modern Tbilisi, The City in Motion, and a Touristic and Gastronomic Adventure, with the tagline "A Timeless City. A Modern Vision." Beyond tourism and hospitality the agenda reaches into architecture, urban development, film, art and design. Named participants include hospitality figures and professionals from major film studios, and the organisers expect guests from the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel and several European countries.

The useful detail for a working business is the audience rather than the speaker list: tour operators, investors, airlines, cultural organisations and people from the creative industries are all expected. For a small operator running private experiences, or a guesthouse owner trying to reach European agents directly, three days in one building with that mix is the practical argument for going. The general partner is NEXT Group, a regional developer active in hotels and residential projects.

Late October sits after the summer season closes and before the ski season opens, which is when hotel and tour businesses have both the staff time and the reason to be planning next year's bookings. It also lands in a year when national visitor numbers have fallen while European arrivals have risen sharply — so a forum pitching Tbilisi at European and American operators is addressing exactly the segment that is growing. Tickets are limited and sold through TKT.GE; the rest of the room is by invitation.