Holiday Climate Index in Kvemo Kartli (Georgia)

Weather and climate are two main factors that determine the bioclimatic resources of a territory and, accordingly, the degree of its suitability for the organization and development of the resort and tourism industry. Early studies used a variety of climate indices for tourism. In recent years, the so-called Holiday Climate Index (HCI), which is a combination of five climate elements (air temperature maximum, relative humidity, cloud cover, precipitation and wind), has been gaining popularity. Determination of HCI values for various locations in Georgia began in 2020 (Tbilisi, Kakheti region, 13 high-mountain points, etc.). In this work, an analysis of data on the long-term average values of the Holiday Climate Index (HCI) for 8 settlements in the Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia (Bolnisi, Gardabani, Dmanisi, Tetri Tskaro, Marneuli, Tsalka, Manglisi, Rustavi) is presented. The intra-annual distribution of HCI values was studied; correlations between individual stations were determined based on average monthly and seasonal HCI values; it was found that the regression equations for the intra-annual variation of average monthly HCI values for all points of Kvemo Kartli have the form of a ninth-order polynomial; categories of average monthly and seasonal HCI values in the specified settlements of Kvemo Kartli were determined; a comparison was made of the statistical characteristics of average monthly HCI values in 8 points of Kvemo Kartli with the indicated characteristics in Bolnisi, Gardabani, Marneuli, Rustavi (height of stations above sea level H < 1 km) and in Dmanisi, Tetri Tskaro, Tsalka, Manglisi (H ˃ 1 km), and a corresponding analysis of the repeatability of HCI categories was conducted. It is shown that the bioclimatic conditions in Kvemo Kartli are favourable for the development of the resort and tourism industry for all months of the year. A visual map of the distribution of mean monthly HCI categories on the territory of Kvemo Kartli has been constructed.