What the Law on Tourism and Resorts Regulates
Georgian legislation on tourism and resorts governs the relationships existing in the sphere of tourism and resort activity. It consists of the Constitution of Georgia, this law and other normative acts adopted in accordance with them. Whether you run a tourism business, receive tourists or plan to travel, this framework defines your rights, duties and guarantees. This structure of the legislation means that one law shapes the frame of the field while detailed rules sit in the corresponding normative acts — and the practitioner's task is to read both levels together. For a tourism business this matters at every stage, from establishing the enterprise to dealing with consumers: each step rests on a different normative layer, and ignoring them breeds later disputes.
Core Concepts: Tourism and the Tourist
The law defines tourism as the free, voluntary, temporary movement of a person from their place of residence for rest, recreation, sightseeing of historical and cultural monuments or other purposes. A tourist is a natural person who voluntarily travels outside their permanent place of residence for rest, recreation, business or other purposes, for a period of not less than 24 hours and not more than one year, and whose travel is not remunerated from the financial sources of the place of temporary stay. The definition matters in practice: it determines who counts as a tourist and who is covered by the insurance and service rules established by the law. A definition this precise resolves several practical questions. A person on a temporary assignment whose costs are reimbursed by an employer, for instance, does not fall within the definition of a tourist, because the travel is paid from the financial sources of the place of temporary stay. Likewise the duration boundaries — not less than 24 hours and not more than one year — separate tourism both from a day trip and from relocation: whoever stays longer than a year is no longer a tourist. Precise control over these criteria is decisive when concluding contracts and arranging insurance.
Medical Tourism and Tourist Resources
Medical tourism means the use of resorts to receive treatment, medical examinations and other medical services. Tourist resources, under the law, are the combination of natural, historical-cultural, educational and socio-household resources together with the infrastructure existing on the territory of Georgia that satisfies the demands of tourists. Among natural resources used for treatment the law lists mineral waters, therapeutic muds, karst caves suitable for treatment, the sea, forests and the therapeutic climate, used for treatment, prophylaxis and rehabilitation. Framing claims over these resources and their legal protection is a significant part of the resort business. Within this context the notion of medical tourism stands as a distinct niche: it is not simply recreation but the use of a resort for treatment, examinations and medical services. An enterprise oriented toward medical tourism therefore benefits from framing its offer precisely in the language of the law — which resource is used for what purpose, and what kind of service the contract covers. Such precision helps manage expectations and keeps disputes away.