The Routes Silk Road Strategy Summit will take place over the course of two days, with many high level speakers in attendance, and it open to all delegates.

Following a welcome address from Kate Aleksidze, CEO of United Airports of Georgia, hosts of Route Silk Road, attendees of the Summit will hear keynote addresses from Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development & Vice Prime Minister of Georgia and George Chogovadze, Head of Georgia National Tourism Administration, followed by a keynote presentation from Guy Brazeau, Director, IATA Consulting.

The Summit will continue with a number of keynote presentations and panel discussions addressing key air service development issues affecting commercial aviation across the Silk Road region, and the rest of the world.

The first panel session will take place on Sunday July 5, entitled “Airlines – settling the turbulence – How are regional tensions touching travel?” and will be headed by Guy Brazeau, Director, IATA Consulting, featuring George Molodinashvili, Deputy CEO, Airport Operations, UAG, George Chogovadze, Head of Georgia National Tourism Administration, Christophe Viatte, Chief Commercial Officer, airBaltic, Dmitri Mirgorodsky, Partner, Concuros and Ercan Uzman, Atlas Global.

Session number 2 – “Air Service Development – the art and science of route planning” will discuss the core elements of route development and air service development strategies, and will be moderated by Nigel Mayes, ASM. Participants include Igor Aptsiauri, First Deputy General Director, Georgian CAA, Mark Sixel, Sixel Consulting, Raul Villaron, Market Manager – EMEA, Embraer Commercial Aviation.

Sessions three and four will take place on the following day on Monday July 6, with the first panel session for the day – “Airports Developments – meeting the changing needs of the region” focusing on airport privatisation in Russia, Ukraine and Georgia, and the importance of concessions. Moderator, Thomas Niehaus, Head of CIS Region, Lufthansa Consulting will host the session featuring Serkan Kaptan, Business Development & Investments Director, TAV Airports, Oleg Panteleev, Executive Director and Head of the Analytical Department, Aviaport, Leonid Sergeev, CEO, Krasnodar and Sochi Airports (Basel Aero), Petro Lipovenko, President, Association Airports of Ukraine, Yolanta Strikitsa, Managing Director, Strikitsa Consulting and Kate Aleksidze, CEO, United Airports of Georgia (UAG).

The final panel session, entitled “Airline & Airport trends across the region – where is the market growth?” will be headed by Oliver Clark, Senior Reporter, Flightglobal. Panellists include Andras Bognar, Senior Manager at ICF SH&E, Adam Wu, Chief Operating Officer, China Business Network, Kairat Sadvakassov, Deputy Director of the Kazakhstan Tourism Industry Department, Yevgen Treskunov, Head of Strategic Development & International Relations Committee Airports Association of Ukraine (AAUCA) and Valeri Chekheria, CEO of Adjara Group Hospitality.

A number of presentations will also play a key part in the Strategy Summit, including “Capturing the China Outbound Market” – from Adam Wu, Chief Operating Officer, China Business Network, and presentation from Serkan Kaptan, Business Development and Investments Director, TAV Airports.

Routes Silk Road attracts the industry’s key decision makers and is the must attend event for all those interested in meeting with the industry's key players. For more information about this years Silk Road Strategy Summit, click here.