ABSTRACT
In February 2018, the Georgian Ministry of Culture proposed placing fourteen Stalinist-era (1928–1953) spa resort buildings in the small town of Tskaltubo on a national heritage protection list. After decades of physical deterioration and partial closure, the historical buildings were again being positioned for tourism, recalling the town's zenith as one of the most sought-after restorative health destinations in the Soviet Union. Since 1992, however, these facilities have been used as the de facto homes of thousands of Georgia's internally displaced persons (IDPs). Built in the latter half of the twentieth century, these buildings have now equally spent their lives as resort complexes and spaces of humanitarian shelter. This chapter charts the complex dynamics of promoting heritage tourism in areas occupied by vulnerable populations. It shows how the historical legacy of such populations is often omitted and reframed in efforts toward economic prosperity. The findings draw from archival research, in-depth interviews, field observations, and focus groups. The chapter argues that the use of heritage tourism as a catalyst for urban recovery risks erasing important aspects of Tskaltubo's multi-layered history and marginalizing IDPs in the process.
