Meni BenishI left Georgia 28 years ago and immigrated to Israel as 10 years old kid. i am in the online marketing business and doing well.I was invited by my father for a business trip in to Georgia, which is between Turkey and Russia, on the Black Sea beech.To tell u the truth guys, I was totally shocked out of the development and the amount of new buildings and amount of foreign investors I met in the Marriott Hotel in Tbilisi.I made a small research and found out that most of them are there to find out about real estate opportunities...During the last year, I got involved with 2 different partnerships, and started a huge business of Constriction, Property Management and Capital management in Georgia.We already invested more than 10 Million USD in Georgia, in 4 different projects, and the prices are just raising day by day.We can currently offer apartments, agricultural plots, plots ready for constriction, projects with full building permits, Tourism projects and more.We have local partners, local low office providing all the needed services for our investors.I will be at your service!

For residential (operating as STR's) what are your plans when the tourism dollars drop off? 

Sounds to me like you are talking about a campground or some other tourism related opportunity.

However; the city decided several years ago to move away from promoting tourism, and develop an industrial park of several hundred acres.

I am in my 30, now planning a guesthouse for rental (since tourism has always been a good market here) I am sure the forum posts will be of immense help for me.

A lot of the work is in tourism and service... low paid jobs.

Also from Watauga County Tourism Development Authority notes that "online rental companies now account for 30 to 31 percent of occupancy tax revenue".

I'm a local but any information about the viability of this type of business in this area, picking the right location, where to find Airbnb friendly landlords, pitfalls to watch out for, and peak tourism season in the area would be much appreciated.

We already pay $900 a month for her shared apartment and this college town (Flagstaff, AZ) is a good STR market with a lot of tourism in the summer and winter months. 

Most employment in beach areas is in tourism/hospitality or service-related industries.