Georgians spend $49m on domestic tourism in Q2 2018

In total 914,300 Georgians aged 15 and older took trips within their home country in the second quarter (Q2) of 2018, reports the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

These people made 1.1 million visits on the territory of Georgia. The number of visits increased by 5.2 per cent in comparison to the same quarter of 2017.

These travellers spent 130.7 million GEL (about $49.79m/€44.33m*) in total while travelling in Georgia, which is 12.9 per cent more compared to the Q2 2017. Domestic travellers used to spend 118.5 GEL per visit – a 7.3 per cent increase year-on-year.

People aged 31-50 were the most avid domestic travellers (36%), while the least people willing to travel were the elderly (6%), said Geostat.

In terms of gender, more women (55%) travelled around Georgia than men (45%) in Q2 2018.

Where do domestic travellers go in Georgia?

Georgia’s capital city of Tbilisi was the most visited area (302,000 visits per month). The Imreti region in the country’s west was the second most popular destination with 207,100 visits per month.

Why do Georgians travel around their home country?

Most people travelled to another region in Georgia to visit friends or relatives (52%), while the next most common reason for internal travel was Health and medical care (12.2%).

The top reasons for internal travel also included:

• Shopping – 11.6% travellers
• Holiday, leisure, recreation – 9.9%
• Visiting another house (cottage, etc.) – 6.9%
• Business or professional – 4.4%
• Religion – 1.7%
• Education – 0.4%

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