Routes Silk Road Opens in Tbilisi, Georgia

PR57275

MANCHESTER, England, July 3 / PRN=KYODO JBN / -

- Leading Airlines and Airports Meet to Expand Air Services Between Asia,

Europe and the Middle East

The first Routes Silk Road, the route development forum which connects Asia,

the CIS, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East will open this weekend

in Tbilisi, Georgia. The event will bring together leading airports, airlines,

tourism authorities, policy-makers and aviation stakeholders to develop new air

services to, from and within the region, which is home to around two thirds of

the world's population.

Hosted by United Airports of Georgia and supported by the Georgian National

Tourism Administration, Routes Silk Road will take place in the Georgian

capital on 6 - 8 July 2014. Over 250 delegates are expected to attend Routes

Silk Road, representing over 45 airports and 35 leading airlines which connect

the region, including Etihad, Air China, China Southern, Turkish Airlines,

Aeroflot, AirAsia X, easyJet, Air Astana, Air Baltic, Czech Airlines, Air

Arabia, Wizz Air and Atlasjet.

Kate Aleksidze, CEO of UAG commented: "It is an absolute honour and we fee

truly privileged to host Routes Silk Road 2014 in Tbilisi. Georgia has achieved

some outstanding results over the last decade in terms of PAX growth, which has

been trebled since 2005. We believe that hosting Routes Silk Road gives UAG and

its stakeholders a unique opportunity to promote the country as destination and

generate further growth of the aviation industry in both the country as well as

all over the region."

Katie Bland, Director Routes for UBM Live said: "Like the Silk Road of old,

today's air services facilitate trade and commerce between the many peoples of

this vast and diverse part of the world. It is for this reason we are bringing

together the leading airports and airlines which connect the 4.5 billion people

of Asia, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East regions. Routes Silk

Road aims to further improve the connections between the major cities in this

important region, and the decisions taken here will help shape air transport in

the region for years to come."

One of the highlights of the event will be the Routes Silk Road Strategy Summit

which will take place on Sunday 6 July and in the morning of Monday 7 July and

will open with a keynote address from Giorgi Kvirikashvili Minister of Economy

and Sustainable Development of Georgia. Around 20 high-level industry leaders

will speak at this hard hitting conference covering some of the hot topics

affecting the industry today, including Kate Aleksidze, CEO of United Airports

of Georgia; Yevgen Treskunov, EVP Strategy and Development, Ukraine

International Airlines; Iase Zautashvili, General Director, Georgian Airways;

Mete Erkal, General Manager, TAV Georgia; Arman Khachaturyan, CEO, National

Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia and Daniel Burkard, Director of External

& International Relations and Deputy Airport Director at Domodedovo Moscow

Airport. Attendees will also hear a keynote presentation from Alla Peressolova,

Programme Manager Silk Road of the UNWTO who will be holding their Silk Road

Task Force alongside Routes Silk Road.

Located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, Georgia is a bridge

connecting several important economic regions including Europe, the Newly

Independent States (NIS), Turkey, the Caucasus and Central Asia region. Its

geographic location makes the country the transportation hub for commerce and

job creation.

For more information on Routes Silk Road, please visit our website.  

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. 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

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; follow us on Twitter at

@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.

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

@airlineroute

Source: UBM Live Routes Ltd