Number of Foreign Tourists Rising in Adjara

The 2016 data released today by the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA) shows there has been a 4.7 percent increase in the number of tourists, with 435,585 people having visited Adjara in 2016. The number of foreign tourists has increased by 19.5 percent meaning 295,269 foreign tourists visited Adjara this year.

Based on all three border crossings over 11 months 1,332.215 international travelers visited the Adjara region. A large number of international travelers was registered in Batumi International Airport with the number of tourists who entered the region by air increasing by 70 percent (126, 474 international visitors).

The large majority of travelers originated from Turkey (962,382), Azerbaijan (114,177), Russia (62,150), Ukraine (36,922) and Armenia (16,158). However, compared to previous years, in 2016 the number of Jewish travelers has noticeably increased, with 28,982 international travelers visiting Adjara from Israel in the first 11 months of the year, three times more than in 2015. The large majority of them (28,498) entered Adjara from Batumi International Airport.

Compared to previous years, the number of visitors from Iran has also considerably risen (by 87 percent): during 11 months, 32,340 Iranian visitors entered the region.

This year there has also been an increase in foreign travelers from the United Arab Emirates (+5 percent) and Saudi Arabia (+44 percent).

Natia Liparteliani