Q4 2023: number int’l traveller arrivals to Georgia at 1.5mln

The number of arrivals of international travellers to Georgia equalled 1.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, of which the number of visits by international visitors made up 1.3 million, the latest inbound tourism statistics published by the National Statistics Office of Georgia on Tuesday said.

The number of arrivals of international travellers was 1.9 percent lower compared to the same period of 2022, while the number of visits by international visitors also decreased by 1.5 percent.

In the reporting period, international visitors made one million tourist visits, which was 6.9 percent higher compared to the data from the same period of previous year. 

The Office said 74.9 percent of international visitors had been tourists, 21 percent - same-day visitors, while 4.1 percent represented both.

The largest number of visitors Georgia hosted in Q4 - 234,600 - came from Turkey, which amounted to 21.4 percent of the total number of visitors, followed by Russia with 20.7 percent and Armenia with 14.4 percent.

Indicated purposes of a majority of the visits - 46.7 percent - were holiday, leisure and recreation, with the average number of nights spent during the visits standing at five. 

The majority came to the capital Tbilisi - with 655,300 visits - and the Black Sea region of Adjara with 523,400.

International travellers spent ₾2.7 billion ($1.01bln) in the reporting period in Georgia, with the average expenditure per visit equalling ₾2,028.1 ($755.34). 

Figures showed 28.4 percent of total expenditure was spent on shopping, 26.2 percent - on foods and drinks, 24.1 percent - on accommodation, 10.05 percent - on holiday, leisure, recreation, cultural and sporting activities, and 9.1 percent on transport.