January-July 2017: Georgia hosts over 1 million tourists

Georgia hosted 982,487 international travellers in July 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 519,349 tourists* spent time in the country, making for a 32.9 percent year-over-year (y/y) increase.

The highest number of visitors who came to Georgia in July 2017 were from Russia (60.4 percent increase), Armenia (25.4 percent increase), Azerbaijan (13.8 percent increase), Turkey (0.6 percent increase), and Iran (85.8 percent increase).

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

• Netherlands - 43 percent increase
• United Kingdom – 34 percent increase
• Germany – 33 percent increase
• France – 33 percent increase

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

• Lebanon – 579 percent increase
• Jordan – 373percent increase
• Saudi Arabia – 254 percent increase
• Kuwait – 207 percent increase
• Iran – 86 percent increase
• United States – 65 percent increase

Meanwhile, during the first seven months of 2017 Georgia hosted 3,978,657 international travellers (16.8 percent increase), including 1,829,331 tourists (30.2 percent increase).

How did Georgia benefit from more visitors?

A total of $434.6 million was generated from international tourism in Georgia in the first quarter (Q1) of 2017, which was $82 million more compared to the same period of 2016.

In the first six months of 2017 international travellers spent 951,335 GEL (about $397,719/€335,699**) on their foreign bank cards, which was an annual increase of more than 33.5 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.