Record numbers of international visitors flock to Georgia in 2017
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A record number of international visitors visited Georgia in 2017, says head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration Giorgi Chogovadze.
Georgia hosted 7,554,936 international visitors (tourists, transit, other), which was a 18.8 percent increase year-on-year (y/y). As for tourists alone, last year Georgia hosted 3,478,932 tourists* (+27.9 percent).
The total income from international tourism amounted to about $2.7 billion in 2017. We have more positive expectations this year and suppose that over 8 million international visitors will arrive in Georgia and income will exceed over $3 billion,” said Chogovadze.
The countries from where the largest number of visitors came to Georgia in 2017 were:
- Armenia – 1,718,016 visitors (14.8 percent increase)
- Azerbaijan – 1,694,998 visitors (11.2 percent increase)
- Russia – 1,392,610 visitors (34.1 percent increase)
- Turkey – 1,246,745 visitors (0.8 percent decrease)
- Iran – 322,938 visitors (118.3 percent increase
From European Union countries:
- United Kingdom - 39.9 percent increase
- The Netherlands – 31.1 percent increase
- Spain – 29.9 percent increase
- France – 29.6 percent increase
- Germany – 25.7 percent increase
The countries with the most significant increase were:
- Jordan – 316.1 percent increase
- Saudi Arabia – 164.6 percent increase
- Kuwait – 154.3 percent increase
- Iran – 118.3 percent
- India – 64.1 percent increase
- China – 54 percent increase
Ed. - *Tourists are considered individuals that spend more than 24 hours in the country.
Almost seven million international travellers visited Georgia between January-November of which over three million were tourists, says the Georgian National Tourism Administration.
Georgia hosted more than 6.4 million international travelers during the first 10 months of 2017, says the head of the National Tourism Administration. A total of 6,430,824 international visitors entered Georgia in January-October of this year, which is 18.8 percent more than in the same time period of last year.
Georgia hosted 763,729 international travellers in September 2017, which was a 20.9 percent increase compared to the same month in 2016, show data from the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Last month 380,895 tourists spent time in the country, making for a 24.8 percent year-on-year (y/y) increase.
Georgia hosted 1,080,449 international travellers in August of 2017, which was 27.4 percent increase compared to the same month of 2016, show data from the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Travel and tourism are vital industries in the Georgian economy. As well as its direct economic impact, the industry has significant indirect and induced impacts, shows the Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2017 Georgia study by the World Travel and Tourism Council.
The number of international travellers visiting Georgia is increasing year-on-year, show the latest data from the Georgian National Tourism Administration, which said Georgia hosted 444,241 international visitors in January 2018.
Georgia’s high-mountainous Adjara region is attracting more visitors year after year, show statistics. Last year, 46,592 travellers visited guesthouses, touristic sites and museums in Adjara region, which was a 98 percent increase compared to 2016.
A total of 440,806 international travellers visited Georgia in February 2018 of which 177,845 were tourists, says the Georgian National Tourism Administration.
Month-on-month, the number of international travellers (tourists, transit, other) increased by 19.8 percent, while the number of tourists (individuals that spend more than 24 hours in the country) increased by 27.1 percent.
Over 8 million international visitors will arrive in Georgia in 2018, believes Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili. While summing up the results of 2017 at the newly opened Moxy Hotel in Tbilisi, the PM stated that tourism has become an important locomotive of the country's economy.