6.4 Million Int’l Travelers Visit Georgia January-October

Around 6.4 million international travelers visited Georgia in January-October 2017, according to data published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA).

The Information Analytical Department of the MIA claims that in October, 607.989 travelers visited Georgia, which is a 15.2% increase compared to the same period in 2016.

In particular, in the January-October period, the number of visitors amounted to 6.430.824, which is 1.016.180 tourists more year-on-year (y/y), a growth of 18.8%).

The number of tourists in ten months amounted to 3.042.907 visits, which is 28% more y/y.

The majority of visitors in October came from Armenia (+12.7%), Azerbaijan (+9.1%), Russia (+30.3%), Turkey (+2,4%), Ukraine (+2.3%) and Iran (+76.8%).

In East European countries, Belarus leads with visitors to Georgia at a 28% increase. The number of visitors from the United States increased by 25% in said 10 months.

The head of the National Tourism Administration, Giorgi Chogovadze, stated at the press conference that the positive trend of growth has also been maintained from European Union countries, with the UK at 40% growth, Austria +36.8%, The Netherlands +34.6%, France +30.4% and Germany +29.1%.

“According to the data of the second quarter of 2017, income from foreign tourists amounted to $658.7 million (growth +27.8%), which is $143 million compared to the data of the previous year," Chogovadze said.

Thea Morrison