United Airports of Georgia to Host Routes Silk Road

Manchester, England (ots/PRNewswire) -

The route development forum for CIS, Central & Eastern Europe,
Middle East & Asia heads to Tbilisi

Routes Silk Road is the route development forum that connects CIS,
Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Asia and Routes is
delighted to announce that United Airports of Georgia (UAG) under the
auspices of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development has
been officially appointed as the Host of the 2014 event which will
take place on 6-8 July of this year.

Routes Silk Road, which will be held for the first time instead of
Routes CIS, is expected to attract around 250 delegates. The event,
which will take place in Tbilisi, the beautiful and historic capital
of Georgia, will offer airports, airlines, tourism authorities and
other stakeholders the perfect platform to do business and improve
air transport networks.

"The passion and commitment of the United Airports of Georgia and
its stakeholders impressed our selection team and we are thrilled
that Routes Silk Road will take place in Georgia," said Adrian
Newton, Group Director, Transport and Technology, UBM Live: "Georgia
is a gateway connecting several important economic regions including
Europe, the Newly Independent States (NIS), Turkey, the Caucasus and
Central Asia and as such it is the ideal location for Routes Silk
Road and one which we are looking forward to sharing with the broader
airline and airport community."

Minister of Economy Giorgi Kvirikashvili commented: "We are
privileged to host Routes Silk Road 2014 in Tbilisi. It is a unique
opportunity for Georgian airports, airlines, tourism authority and
their stakeholders to further develop its business and expand the
network. I believe Tbilisi is a perfect location for this event and
it will be a great experience for all attendees. The fact that
Georgia is hosting such an event underlines the great dedication of
our country to the industry as well as reflecting our aspiration to
turn Georgia into a regional hub, in the nearest future, as one of
the important points of the historic Silk Road."

"In recent years Georgia has seen unprecedented growth of air
transport, passengers and number of tourists," added CEO of UAG Kate
Aleksidze: "United Airports of Georgia has developed some major
infrastructural projects during the last few years and has a lot to
show to the international community of the aviation industry."

The event promises to help its host deliver on its objectives to
raise awareness of the destination to the global aviation community
and promote the country as an important geographical location. This
is underlined by the significant growth in passenger numbers (over
30%) which the country has seen across all Georgian airports since
2012, with further growth expected this year.

The event will also allow the UAG to showcase Kutaisi David the
Builder International Airport which opened in 2012. It is the first
low cost airport in the region and is focussed solely on attracting
low cost carriers to facilitate tourism development in Georgia. As a
100% state owned enterprise UAG owns all four airports, which
includes three international, in the country and over the last eight
years, all airport terminals have been fully rebuilt and modernised.

Located at the crossroad of Europe and Asia, Georgia is the ideal
location for Routes Silk Road. The country is a transportation hub
with 400km of highways and 600km of air routes passing through it the
Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) creating the
shortest route from Europe to China and Asia. It is a unique and
diverse country with a land area of only 70,000 square kilometres
mixing an ancient, rich culture with beautiful natural landscapes.
Georgia boasts 12,000 historical and cultural monuments, 14 strict
nature reserves and 8 national parks. In addition the country is one
of the oldest Christian countries and the birthplace of the first
European civilisation with the discovery of 1.8 million year old
human remains in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains.

Notes to Editors

About Routes

- Routes organises world-renowned airline and airport networking events
through its regional and global Route Development Forums. Each year, there is one
global event and one regional event in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and CIS
respectively. http://www.routesonline.com

- Routes was founded in 1995 as part of the Manchester UK-based ASM Ltd.,
a consultancy specialising in the field of route development for airports.
http://www.asm-global.com [http://www.asm%E2%80%90global.com ]. Routes and ASM are
part of the UBM Live division of UBM plc.

- UBM Live connects people and creates opportunities for companies across
five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote
their brands and expand their markets. Through premiere brands such as MD&M, CPhI,
IFSEC, TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami, the Concrete Show, the Routes portfolio of
events, Airport Cities and many others, UBM Live exhibitions, conferences, awards
programs, publications, websites and training and certification programs are an
integral part of the marketing plans of companies across more than 20 industry
sectors. http://www.ubmlive.com

Follow us on twitter: @Routesonline, @TheHUBRoutes,
@VictoriaRoutes, @NLPROU, @airlineroute

About UBM plc

- UBM plc is a global events-led marketing services and communications
company. We help businesses do business, bringing the world's buyers and sellers
together at events and online, as well as producing and distributing news and
specialist content. Our 5,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into
expert teams which serve commercial and professional communities, helping them to do
business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

- For more information, go to http://www.ubm.com [
natasha.peck@routesonline.com ]; follow us on Twitter at @UBM_plc
[http://twitter.com/UBM_plc ] to get the latest UBM corporate news; follow @UBM for
news from all UBM's businesses; follow @UBM for a flavour of UBM from selected
members of UBM's Twitterati.

ots Originaltext: UBM Live Routes Ltd
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
For further press information please contact: Victoria Jones, PR
Executive, Routes, T: +44 (0) 161 234 2730 E: pr@routesonline.com.