Number of international arrivals reaches 3.4 million in Q3 2019

The total number of arrivals by international non-resident travellers coming to Georgia in the third quarter (Q3) of 2019 increased by 4.6 per cent compared to last year and reached 3.4 million, show the latest data published by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

The number of visits by international visitors, defined as visits by people who are over the age of 15 and travel for less than one year, came out to 2.8 million, which is 3.9 per cent higher compared to 2018. 45.2 per cent of visits were done by the 31-50 age group.

Throughout July-September 2019, out of the visits of international visitors, 1.9 million visits were tourist-type (visit which includes an overnight stay in Georgia) which is 1.4 per cent more compared to last year.

However, the actual number of international visitors equalled to 2.2 million which is a 1 per cent increase compared to last year. In the number of total visitors, 67.3 per cent were only tourists, while 26.3 per cent accounted for were one-day visitors who did not stay in Georgia for a night. The share of women in the number of total visitors equalled 43.8 per cent. 

In Q3 of 2019 the largest number of visitors (413,800 visitors) was from the Russian Federation, which equalled 18.8 percent of the total number of visitors. However, the number of Russian visitors is 16.5 per cent less compared to the same period of last year. While the largest share of visitors amounted to Russia, largest share of visits (19.9 per cent) came on Azerbaijan, which is 10.6 per cent higher compared to last year.

Distribtuon of visits by the inbound visitors' country of citizenship in Q3 of 2018-2019. Photo: Geostat.

Top 3 reasons for visiting Georgia were the following:

• Holiday, leisure, recreation - 52.8 per cent
• Visiting friends/relatives - 16.3 per cent
• Transit to other country - 15.5 per cent

The majority of visits were to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi and the mountainous Adjara region.

Distribution of visits made by inbound visitors by the visited regions in Q3 pf 2019. Photo: Geostat.

In Q3 of 2019 the average number of nights spent during visits to Georgia equalled 4.8 nights.

Meanwhile, 69.4 per cent of inbound visits were repeat visits, said Geostat.

The chart below shows that the majority of travellers, specifically 53.6 per cent of them were very satisfied with travelling in Georgia.

Distribution of visits made by inbound visitors by the level of satisfaction in Q3 of 2019. Photo: Geostat.

Travellers spent 3.3 billion GEL (about $1.12 bln/€1.01 bln) in Georgia in Q3 of 2019, which is a 4.1 per cent increase compared to the previous year. 

Visitors spent the highest amount of money on:

• Foods and drinks - 31.1 per cent
• Accommodation - 24.6 per cent
• Shopping - 20.7 per cent

Most of the income (41.6 per cent) was made by travellers in the age group of 31-50.

The average expenditure on visits amounted to 1,181.7 GEL ($399.7/€362.9).