On November 18, Caucasus School of Tourism participated in a high-level forum on "Tourism, Digitalization and Sustainable Development in the Black Sea Countries", which was held in a hybrid model in Ljubljana and online. The event was attended by relevant organizations from the European Commission, Georgian, Romanian and Ukrainian government agencies, the private sector and academia. Caucasus University was represented by the Dean of Caucasus School of Tourism, Nino Kalandadze and Affiliated Professor, Giorgi Bregadze.

The tourism sector in the Black Sea basin is developing at a steady pace. The region has a great opportunity to offer tourists a more sustainable, innovative and diversified tourism product. That is why, in the context of the Eastern Neighborhood Policy, the European Commission has funded the piloting of a European model for assessing the sustainable development of tourism in three Black Sea countries: Georgia, Ukraine and Romania. The project "Tourism 4.0 for the Black Sea - Data Analysis for Sustainable Tourism Development Strategies" is about measuring the sustainable development of a tourism destination using big data and advanced technologies. To do this, the project uses a digital tool called "Tourism Impact Model" (TIM), developed in Slovenia by the company Arctur. It was piloted in Batumi and Adjara region, from November 2019 to November 2021.

The Tourism Impact Model (TIM) has been named the Best Innovation on AI and has received Data Analytics Award at the Tourism Innovation Summit 2020 in Spain.

The project is co-financed by the European Commission, its official partner is the Department of Tourism and Resorts of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara and the Georgian Maritime Transport Agency, and is implemented by the "Tourism Institute".