Georgian National Bank: Income from Tourism Up

The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has said that income from tourism has finally started to increase after a three-month decline as a result of Russia’s ban on direct flights to and from Georgia implemented in July.

The NBG stated that Georgia's tourism revenue in October totaled $266.9 million, which is a 5.2% increase compared to the same period last year.

In relation to the period directly after the travel ban was imposed by Moscow, revenue fell by 8.6% in July, 6.8% in August, and 4.9% in September, according to the National Bank.

“735,100 people visited Georgia in October 2019, which is 11% more than in October 2018,” the NBG said.

Along the same lines, the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) reported that in the 3rd quarter of 2019, the number of arrivals of international travelers to Georgia equaled 3.4 million, which is 4.6% higher compared to the previous year.

The agency noted that the largest number of visits (19.9%) came from citizens of Azerbaijan, which is 10.6% higher compared to the 3rd quarter of 2018.

In the same period, the second largest number of visitors (413,800) was from the Russian Federation, which amounts to 18.8% of the total number of visitors and is a 16.5% decrease compared to the 3rd quarter of 2018.

“The number of visits by international travelers from the above-mentioned countries totaled 2.8 million, which is 3.9% higher compared to 2018. In the 3rd quarter of 2019, the number of international visitors equaled 2.2 million. That is a 1% increase compared to the previous year. International visitors to the country made 1.9 million tourist-type visits, which is 1.4% higher compared to the previous year,” the agency reports.

67.3% of international visitors were tourists, with the number of excursionists amounting to 26.3%, while 6.4% of visitors were tourists on same-day visits.

What’s more, 41.6% of these visits were made by travelers between the ages of 31-50 and the number of women equaled 43.8% of the total number.

The purpose of 52% of visits was holiday, leisure and recreation.

In the 3rd quarter of 2019, the average number of nights spent during visits equaled 4.8 nights, which is 0.4% lower than the figure indicated in the same quarter of 2018 (4.9 nights). 69.4% of visits were at least their second time in Georgia.

Expenditure during visits made in the 3rd quarter of 2019 totaled 3.3 billion GEL ($1,112,984,796), which is a 4.1% increase compared to the previous year. Average expenditure per visit increased by 2.6 GEL compared to the 3rd quarter of 2018 and amounted to 1,181.7 GEL ($398.55).

Russia imposed a ban on flights to and from Georgia at the end of June 2019 following the large-scale anti-Russian protests in Tbilisi. Since then, the possible resumption of flights has been mentioned many times by both countries.

Last month, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani stated that direct flights between Georgia and Russia should be restored because it is “beneficial for both countries,” while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also stating that he supports the restoration of direct flights.

In mid-October, Russian media reported that the Russian aviation agency will allow S7 Airlines to carry out flights between Kutaisi and Moscow as soon as direct flights between the two countries are restored. However, the agency explained that permission to carry out flights “is a standard procedure,” and that companies which were granted the right will be able to fly to Georgia after the flight ban is revoked.

By Tea Mariamidze

Image source: exploregeorgia.com