Georgian Tourism Administration: 2024 hit “all-time high” 5.1 mln visits

The Georgian National Tourism Administration on Wednesday said the year 2024 had set a new record for tourist visits, with 5,091,732 international tourists flocking to the country in a nine percent increase compared to 2023 and 0.2 percent gain compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Last year, Georgia also welcomed 7,368,149 international travellers of all types, reflecting a 4.2 percent increase from the previous year, and showing a recovery of 78.7 percent of 2019 figures.

The Administration said the surge in tourist numbers had been “significant” in the fourth quarter of 2024. From October to December, international tourist visits reached 1,098,890, an increase of 8.4 percent from the same period in 2023 and 0.8 percent increase from 2019.

During the same period, 1,573,488 international travellers visited Georgia, representing a 4.5 percent increase compared to 2023, and a recovery rate of 74.2 percent compared to 2019.

Notable contributions to the visitor boom came from the following countries:

• Turkey - 1,336,834 visits
• Israel - 310,982 visits
• Kazakhstan - 178,930 visits
• India - 124,335 visits
• China - 88,583 visits
• Saudi Arabia - 88,298 visits
• Uzbekistan  - 64,259 visits
• United States - 51,728 visits
• France - 28,302 visits
• Greece - 27,557 visits
• Kuwait - 27,277 visits
• Latvia - 22,297 visits
• United Arab Emirates - 14,889 visits

Mariam Kvrivishvili, the Deputy Economy Minister of Georgia, on Tuesday said the domestic airline and tourism sectors experienced “significant growth” in 2024, with passenger flow through the country's airports soaring to over 7.4 million.

She said the number represented a 24 percent increase from the previous year, while also noting the number of flights had increased by 25 percent throughout 2024.

Kvrivishvili added “successful negotiations” with 10 airlines resulted in the introduction of 13 direct routes, leading to the entry of Austria Airlines, Transavia, and Air China into the Georgian airline market.

Looking ahead to 2025, the Deputy Minister announced the entry of British Airways, easyJet, and Edelweiss to commence direct flights from London, Milan, Geneva, and Zurich.