Number of tourists visiting Georgia increases 18% in June 2019

Georgia hosted 471,979 tourists (+18%) and 873,966 international travellers (+20.2%) in June 2019, announces the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA).

Most visitors came from:

• Russia (+30.8%)
• Turkey (+45.8%)
• Azerbaijan (+8.8%)
• Armenia (+9.7%)

The countries with the most significant increase were:

• Saudi Arabia (+127.7%)
• Jordan (+91.4%)
• Kazakhstan (+78.4%)
• China (+52.9%)
• Korea (+48%)
• Turkey (+45.8%)

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

• Austria (+71%)
• Germany (+67.7%)
• The United Kingdom (+34.9%)
• Latvia (+30.2%)
• The Netherlands (+25.7%)

In January-June 2019 Georgia hosted 3,862,444 international travellers (+8.4%).

Image: GNTA.

How did Georgia benefit from more visitors?

In January-May 2019, international tourism revenue reached $1.1 billion, which is $101 million more compared to the same period of 2018.

Meanwhile, in 2018 international tourism revenue reached $3.2 billion, which was $518 million more compared to 2017.

#SpendYourSummerinGeorgia

Georgian authorities are claiming that overall the country is a safe destination for travellers from any country, including Russia. Accent on Russian tourists was made after the warnings for them from Russian authorities that travelling to Georgia is no longer safe for them.

• Georgian FM: ‘Georgia is a safe and popular tourist country’
• Georgian Economy Minister: “Georgia is a safe country for everyone, including Russian tourists”

Also, in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent ban on flights with Georgia a social campaign under the hashtag #VisitGeorgia and #SpendYourSummerinGeorgia started in Georgia where Georgians as well as foreign visitors share their personal experience of travelling in the country and inviting everyone to support the tourism industry by travelling to Georgia this year.

Foreign embassies in Georgia have also joined the campaign and are promoting the country as a tourism destination, sharing their personal experience of travelling in Georgia on their Twitter accounts.