What is the most popular place for domestic travellers in Georgia?

Capital city Tbilisi is the most visited destination by domestic tourists in Georgia.

The National Statistics Office of Georgia, Geostat, released data today reflecting the number of internal tourists and their intention for nationwide travel.

Metekhi church in the old town of Tbilisi. Photo by Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

Figures showed over the first quarter (Q1) of 2016, the majority of local citizens who travelled to another region did so to visit friends or relatives.

Statistics also showed about 988,000 Georgians per month travelled from one Georgian region to another in Q1 2016, and of these people, about 55 percent were female.

Tbilisi was the most visited area, while the Imreti region in the country’s west was the second most popular destination to visit.

Here are top five most visited areas:

1. Tbilisi – about 25 percent of domestic travellers;
2. Imereti – 22 percent;
3. Adjara (Black Sea coast) – about 11 percent;
4. Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti – about 7 percent;
5. Kakheti – about 7 percent.

Black See coastal city of Batumi in Georgia's western Adjara region. Photo by Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

In the first three months of this year most people travelled to another region in Georgia to visit friends or relatives, while the next most common reason for internal travel was for health or medical care.

The top reasons for internal travel included:

• Visiting friends/relatives – about 56 percent;
• Health and medical care – about 13 percent;
• Shopping – about 12 percent;
• Visiting another property [summer cottage, house, etc.] – 7 percent;
• Business or professional – about 5 percent.
• Leisure – about 3 percent;
• Religion/pilgrimage – about 2 percent;
• Education/trainings – about 1 percent.