Welcoming Deaf and Hearing Impaired Customers in Tbilisi (Georgia)

In November 2015  Hotel “City” hosted a delegation from ENAT and took part in the 3rd International Conference "Accessible Tourism – for Social Inclusion and Economic Development" in Tbilisi, Georgia. The event was held under the auspices of the Tbilisi City Hall, with the support of the Georgian National Tourist Authority. It was organised by the NGO “Accessible Tourism Center PARSA”.

ENAT and NGO PARSA had previously held International conferences and training sessions in Georgia on the theme of Accessible Tourism, thanks to a grant from the European Commission’s EuropeAid programme.   

Our participation in the conference encouraged us to take steps in order to become accessible to visitors who are deaf or have hearing impairments, as well as for visitors without speech or with speech impairments. We made some enquiries about where to get further information and training, so that our hotel could begin welcoming guests with hearing or speaking difficulties.   

In 2016 Hotel “City” staff was trained by the Deaf Union of Georgia, specifically focusing on requirements of hotel guests. As a result of this, we are now able to communicate in International and Russian sign language.

At present our hotel is the only certified hotel in Tbilisi that is able to offer adapted services to guests with hearing or speaking difficulties. Having achieved this distinction, we decided to register with Pantou to extend our outreach to the accessible tourism market – and we are very honoured to be part of the Pantou family!

We are more than proud of the commitment and achievements of our staff and we are looking forward to welcoming guests – with or without hearing and/or speech impairments, from Georgia or from abroad – in our hotel.

Welcome to Tbilisi!

Ana Muradashvili

Director