The Secrets of ‘Soft Travel,’ Avoiding Crowds and Finding True Connections
The hottest buzzword in travel isn’t the easiest thing to chase down in real life. But you might want to start your search in Georgia.
Restaurant waiters wait for customers near the clock tower in the old town district of Tbilisi, Georgia, in May.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergGamarjoba, dear readers! It’s Lily Girma here, your travel correspondent delivering industry news and insights on how to be a better traveler. By the way, that’s how you say hello in Georgia—the country, not the state—and it literally translates as “may you be victorious!”
Last month, I spent seven seemingly victorious days in the eastern European country known as the cradle of wine. My visit was timed to coincide with the United Nations’ World Tourism Day, which falls on September 27 every year. I’ll admit that I felt unsure, a tad nervous even, of the kind of atmosphere I’d find on that side of Europe, given Georgia’s proximity to Russia and the conflict with Ukraine.
But Sakartvelo—as Georgians call their homeland—actually turned out to be a welcome respite from the chaos of the world. Tbilisi was delightfully easy to explore on foot, from Rustaveli Avenue, a grand tree-lined boulevard flanked by a mix of neoclassical, Moorish revival and contemporary architecture, home to museums and fashion retailers—with brand names etched in Georgian alphabet letters—to Old Tbilisi’s cobblestoned streets, past sidewalk cafés adjacent to diverse spiritual centers.