Economy Minister Meets Tourism Sector Representatives

Georgia’s Economy Minister Giorgi Kobulia says the number of tourists in Georgia is on the up.

He made the statement at his meeting with the representatives of the tourism sector. The meeting was also attended by Giorgi Chogovadze, Head of the National Tourism Administration (GNTA).

“In January-July 2018, tourism grew by more than 20%. Our goal is to improve the quality of tourism services together with the increase in the number of tourists,” Kobulia said.

At the meeting, representatives of tourism associations and tour operators talked about the challenges facing the sector and ways to solve them.

The Minister assessed the meeting with representatives of the tourism sector as very fruitful. “The Ministry will take into account the recommendations of the tourism representatives,” he said.

In the second quarter of 2018, 2 million foreign citizens entered Georgia, of whom 1.1 million were tourists, which is a 20.4% increase compared to the same period of last year.

Of the total, 1.7 million were visits made by international visitors, which is a 13.8 % increase compared to the same quarter of 2017.

Geostat says that these 2 million foreign citizens spent GEL 1.9 Billion. This is a 31.5% increase compared to the same quarter of 2017.

By Thea Morrison

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