INNOVATION AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER AS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN SMART RURAL DESTINATIONS

Smart and Competitive Rural Areas was one of the broad themes of the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) in the 2014-2020 programming period. As the current situation shows, we must explore smart rural development based on knowledge and innovation. The main purpose of the article is to analyse what is the role of innovation in rural destinations and how it gives a competitive advantage to the regions. The article, based on qualitative and quantitative research methods, highlights and studies the importance of knowledge transfer and innovations in the context of smart rural destinations. The main purpose of the article is to study smart rural destination experiences in Georgia and other foreign countries, especially in the EU. In conclusion, it can be said that smart rural development is one of the important trends of regional development and innovations play the most important role in it, but this represents a big challenge for developing countries and implementing innovations needs additional financial resources, skills and policies.