Georgia’s prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, has signed a decree creating a new state body dedicated to promoting the country’s culinary heritage, with the National Agency of Gastronomy formally launched on July 21, OC Media reported.
The agency, dated in a decree signed on July 18, will operate within the Environmental Protection and Agriculture Agency and be temporarily headed by deputy agriculture minister Lasha Avialiani. Its mandate covers identifying, researching and digitising Georgia’s national gastronomic heritage, including traditional recipes, production methods and culinary practices, according to the ministry.
The new body will also support the protection of endemic and local agricultural varieties, help develop quality schemes such as geographical indications, and back the commercialisation of traditional products to strengthen local producers and regional gastronomic tourism. Its remit extends to professional training, international cooperation and public awareness campaigns, delivered through marketing initiatives, festivals and exhibitions.
Keti Kvichidze, co-founder of the Gastronomic Tourism Business Association, said the initiative addressed a long-standing gap in state support for the sector. “This need has existed for a long time because the state never had a proper policy for developing gastronomy,” Kvichidze said, according to Business Media, adding that industry associations had previously struggled to secure funding on their own.
Tamar Sikharulidze, co-founder of the Association for the Development of Gastronomic Culture, told OC Media that judging the agency’s value would depend on how its responsibilities and objectives are eventually defined, while stressing that gastronomy carries both cultural and economic significance for the country’s tourism sector.
The agency’s launch comes as Georgia works to attract visitors from newer markets, including China. Tourism figures from the National Statistics Office and the National Bank of Georgia show international visitor trips fell by 4.5% in the second quarter of 2026, with tourist visits specifically down by 2.7%.