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I don't have much to add on this topic, really. But I won't pass a chance to mention I've been to Georgia!
Even though it's a very low-profile and small country, it's a very popular tourist destination for UAE residents. It's a 3-hour flight away, the cost of things is roughly 1/3 to 1/2 of the UAE, so we have excellent purchasing power there, and it's the nearest "cold" and "green" country to escape the heat. I guess it's vaguely European?
It's a beautiful country that has history, wine, and Orthodox churches in super-abundance. The north of the country is breathtaking: snow-capped peaks, alpine climate, wildflowers everywhere. If you're itching for the Swiss Alps without the Alps prices.
Even though the capital, Tbilisi, is modern and has much better infrastructure than you would expect given the country's (lack of) wealth, the city is steeped in history and has that raw feeling that places used to have before they got enshittified by globohomo slop. This is true of the people as well.
The locals are cold, as per the experience of other tourists from here, but that hasn't been my experience at all.
Highly recommend. 10/10 place.
I don't know if this is the case in Georgia but some people have an expectation that service workers should be very subservient and borderline lick their boots. When they don't get this they think service is bad or "cold" regardless of whether it is performing it's core function well or not, and they might not notice or be aware of other competing goals service workers can have like being unobtrusive. Some people enjoy the experience of being served, while others enjoy not having to do things the service does but doesn't otherwise want to engage much with them.
This leads can lead to wildly different experiences of the same service.
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I really want to visit now. Seems really cool.
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