Georgian PM: int’l tourism revenues to reach $4.5bln, airports to serve 6.8 mln passengers this year

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday said revenues from international tourism were expected to reach $4.5 billion this year, while Georgian airports would serve 6.8 million passengers. 

We have reasonable expectations that 2024 will be even more successful”, Kobakhidze said during the presentation of Georgian tourism and airline’s summary report for 2023 and plans for the current year.

He said tourism in Georgia had experienced “rapid growth” during the past few years, adding despite the setbacks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, implementation of “effective policies” had enabled the tourism sector in the country to recover “quickly”. 

As a result, in 2023, the tourism and airline industries in Georgia achieved record-breaking figures”, Kobakhidze said.

The Georgian PM noted turnover of the hotel and restaurant industry had increased fourfold since 2012, while the number of people employed in this sector also increased from 28,000 to 40,000, with the average salary of employees increasing “threefold”.

Speaking about the airline industry, Kobakhidze said the country’s international airports served a “record number” of passengers, totalling 6 million last year. He singled out the western Kutaisi International Airport, which registered 1.5 million passengers last year “for the first time in history”.

In his comments, the Prime Minister discussed “important” projects he said would contribute to the country's development in tourism, airline, and the economy as a whole.

[I]t is planned to develop the Tbilisi International Airport project, which will serve as a transit and logistics centre with advanced passenger and cargo terminals. Additionally, we will prioritise the promotion of inter-regional travel by continuing to encourage domestic flights and the construction and upgrading of domestic airports”, he said.

This year, we plan to construct and modernise Telavi Airport [in the east], as well as design and build a new terminal for Mestia Airport [in the north-west]. The general development plan for Kutaisi Airport [in the west] will also be completed this year, and the necessary infrastructure work will commence”, Kobakhidze said.

The Head of the Government also highlighted global events that were planned to be hosted in Georgia.

An important event for the global tourism industry, the World Tourism Day, will be hosted in Georgia in 2024, which is a very important achievement for our country, and I thank the team for this”, he pointed out.

In addition, Georgia will host a crucial international forum on business tourism. The event will have the participation of representatives of top organisations from Europe, working in the field of business tourism. This forum is expected to contribute significantly to the country's global ranking in terms of business tourism”, Kobakhidze said.

“Complex activities” targeting new markets such as China, the United States, India, and other countries in collaboration with the European Union and Persian Gulf countries are also planned for 2024, Kobakhidze said, adding the work was expected to “enhance Georgia's popularity and significantly contribute” to further development of the country's tourism industry.