A working meeting on consumer rights protection in the tourism sector was convened at the initiative of the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency, with support of the EU-funded TWINNING project.
The event was opened by Irakli Lekvinadze, Chairman of the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency; Maia Omiadze, Head of the Georgian Tourism Administration, and Justina Paulauskaité, the project RTA.
Irakli Lekvinadze outlined measures to protect consumer rights, emphasizing the significance of creating awareness among business representatives in the tourism sector. " Agency began enforcing the Law of Georgia on the Protection of Consumer Rights on November 1, 2022, the number of applications is increasing, since the start of implementation, up to 900 applications have been registered with the Agency. The Parliament of Georgia adopted the Law of Georgia „On Tourism" on December 15, 2023, which addresses different concerns in the tourism industry and outlines tourists' rights and guarantees as consumers. The Agency's goal is enhancing the business sector's awareness on consumer rights and sharing international best practices”. - stated Irakli Lekvinadze, Chairman of the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency at the meeting and expressed gratitude to the meeting participants.
The meeting was held in a question-and-answer format, with Valdemiras Stempkauskas, Head of the Tourism Market Monitoring Department of the Lithuanian State Consumer Rights Protection Authority, presenting a presentation prepared in the aforementioned direction and sharing his experiences in Lithuania with the participants. During the meeting, Nini Tsabutashvili, a lawyer from GCCA's Consumer Rights Protection Department, provided the audience with Georgian legislation and current challenges.
The event was attended by representatives of the the legislative and executive authorities, the tourism administration, Lithuanian State Consumer Rights Protection Authority, the tourism industry, and the competition and consumer Agency.
