International tourist arrivals up 28.5 percent in June

Georgia hosted 666,493 international travellers in June 2017, which was 28.5 percent increase compared to the same month of 2016, show data from the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA).

Last month 328,314 tourists* spent time in the country, making for a 43 percent year-over-year (y/y) increase.

Meanwhile, during the first six months of 2017 Georgia hosted 2,996,170 international travellers (13.4 percent increase), including 1,309,982 tourists (29.1 percent increase).

The highest number of visitors who came to Georgia in January-June 2017 were from Azerbaijan (7.4 percent increase), Armenia (16.2 percent increase), Turkey (-15.9 percent decrease), Russia (27.5 percent increase), and Iran (223.4 percent increase).

A positive trend was also maintained by visitors from the European Union:

• Austria – 54 percent increase
• Netherlands - 36 percent increase
• Germany – 32 percent increase
• United Kingdom – 28 percent increase
• France – 23 percent increase
• Lithuania – 17 percent increase

Exceptional growth in visitor numbers was recorded from the following countries:

• Iran – 223 percent increase
• Uzbekistan – 163 percent increase
• Saudi Arabia – 159 percent increase
• India - 133 percent increase
• Israel - 48 percent increase
• China – 41 percent increase

How did Georgia benefit from more visitors?

So far this year $434.6 million was generated from international tourism in Georgia, which was $82 million more compared to the same period of 2016.

In the first six months of 2017 international travellers spent 786,282 GEL (about $327,348/€287,690**) on their foreign bank cards, which was an annual increase of more than 33 percent.

International tourism revenue reached $2.2 billion in 2016, which was $230 million or 11.9 percent more than in 2015.

Ed. - *Tourists are considered individuals that spend more than 24 hours in the country.

** Currency conversions reflect National Bank of Georgia values as of today.