Georgian City Hopes Bush Spurs Tourism By MARA D. BELLABY - The Associated Press 10.05.2005 TBILISI, Georgia - The city center in this former Soviet Republic was spruced up for President Bush's arrival Monday, with locals hoping the international attention he has brought will help revive the tourism that suffered under political unrest. Bush, the first U.S. president to visit Georgia, was greeted by giant billboards bearing his image, U.S. flags and freshly painted buildings and paved roads. Those roads were emptied, as police shooed pedestrians away for security. Few complained. "When the leader of today's free world turns his attention to you, you should be proud," said Katya Chichua, 50, who watched workers lay colorful Oriental rugs on a stage in Tbilisi's old town where Bush visited Monday night. Georgians staged a phenomenal welcoming ceremony for Bush in Old Town Tbilisi, complete with hundreds of whirling dancers, acrobats and a fireworks display. Cheering citizens lined Bush's entire motorcade route for the 25-minute drive from the airport to the ceremony. The White House expects 100,000 people will attend Bush's speech to the nation Tuesday. He planned to speak from Tbilisi's Freedom Square, once called Lenin Square, where hundreds of thousands of Georgians gathered after the fall of the Soviet Union. Georgia was perceived as one of the wealthiest and most privileged of Soviet republics, and many Russians treated its Black Sea coast as a kind of Soviet Riviera. But the collapse of the Soviet Union and the disorder that seized Georgia after its independence in 1991 marred its reputation as a resort destination famous for delicious food and wine. Much of Georgia has stabilized, although peace remains fragile in some separatist areas. But many hope a successful visit by Bush will put Georgia back on the map as a tourist destination. "It is a big honor for us," said Nino Bakradze, 26, who spoke in hesitant English, which is fast replacing Russian as the foreign language of choice among students here. "It is giving a chance that we haven't had in years." <<Previous Back to NEWS archive Next>>