Most visitors to Georgia coming from Turkey, Russia, Armenia in Q2, says statistics office

The largest number of visitors Georgia hosted in the second quarter of 2023 came from Turkey, followed by Russia and Armenia, the latest inbound tourism statistics published by the National Statistics Office of Georgia on Monday show.

Georgia hosted 290,800 visitors from Turkey, or 24 percent of the total number, with 22.1 percent arriving from Russia and 12.4 percent from Armenia.

Visits by Turkish citizens amounted to 366,100, with Russian nationals making 320,800 visits, and the number standing at 214,600 for those from Armenia. 

The overall number of arrivals of international travellers in Georgia equalled 1.7 million in the second quarter of 2023, of which the number of visits by international visitors made up 1.5 million. 

The number of arrivals of international travellers was 57.4 percent higher compared to the same period of 2022, while the number of visits by international visitors was 58.7 percent higher.

In the reporting period, international visitors have made 1.1 million tourist visits, which was 44.8 percent higher compared to the data from the same period of previous year. 

The indicated purposes of a majority of visits - 51.5 percent - were holiday, leisure and recreation, with the average number of nights spent during the visit standing at 6.3. 

The majority of visits came to the capital Tbilisi - with 709,300 visits - and the Black Sea region of Adjara with 661,800.

International travellers spent ₾3.4 billion ($1.31bln) in the reporting period in Georgia, with the average expenditure per visit equalling ₾2,292 ($879.93). 

Figures showed 43.3 percent of total expenditure was spent on accommodation, 21.9 percent - on shopping, 16.5 percent - on foods and drinks, 10.9 percent - on holiday, leisure, recreation, cultural and sporting activities, and 6.1 percent on transport.