Tourism report: 266,000 Visitors arrived in Georgia in August
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Wednesday, September 8
Mariam Kvrivishvili, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, held a working meeting regarding the tourism numbers as the season is approaching the end. For the past 2 years, due to the Covid-19 related epidemiological situation, including the regulations, the tourism sector has been suffering across the globe. As it was reported at the presentation, the sector has shown some improvement this year: in the first quarter of 2021, the domestic tourism rate recovered by 112 and 119% compared to the same period in 2019 and 2020. According to, the total number of overnight stays increased by 31% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2019. Domestic tourists spent 51% and 45% more, respectively, compared to the same period in 2019 and 2020.
In the first quarter of 2021, the total expenditures of domestic tourists amounted to GEL553 million. It should be noted that the average expenditure per visit was GEL149, which is 35% more than the same period in 2019.
According to Kvrivishvili, the intensification of domestic tourism has significantly contributed to the strengthening and development of the private sector. This was also positively reflected in the increase in the hotel occupancy rate. According to statistics, in contrast to 2020, in 2021 this figure, especially during the summer tourist season, increased significantly and almost approached the record 2019 figures. In particular, if in May and June 2019 this figure was 61.4 percent and 66.3%, respectively, in the same months of 2021 it was 40.3% and 58.3%.
In August 2021, 266,544 visitors visited Georgia, which is a record number since the beginning of the pandemic. According to the National Tourism Administration, compared to last year, the tourist flow has increased by 510%, but compared to 2019, it is still 75% less. Accordingly, the number of visitors to Georgia in August was restored by only 24.5% of the 2019 figure.
In July 2021, Georgia received $ 205.3 million in international tourism revenue, a record amount of tourism revenue since the pandemic began. According to the National Bank of Georgia, in total, the economy received $ 505.1 million in tourism revenue in the first 7 months of this year. This volume of tourism revenue is 93% of what Georgia received in 2020 as a whole. The August calculation will be known in a few weeks.
According to the statistics of the National Tourism Administration, more than half of the visitors arrived in the country during August, which is related to the activated air traffic. As of August 2021, air traffic in Georgia has been restored by almost 90% compared to the same period in 2019. In particular, the number of airlines operating flights to Georgia was restored by 98%. Specifically, the directions of flights were restored by 91%; 81% - frequency of flights; 72% - the number of countries and 70% - the flow of passengers.
Kvrivishvili drew attention to the fact that the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation EUROCONTROL named Georgia as the 2nd country with the fastest recovery dynamics in terms of aviation, ahead of countries such as Spain, Germany, France, Greece, Turkey, and others.
The top 15 countries with the most visitors in August were Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia (non-resident), Armenia, Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Poland, Germany, Uzbekistan, US, India, and Kuwait.
In the conditions of the pandemic, positive dynamics of air traffic were observed in the renovated Kutaisi International Airport. According to the Georgian Airports Association, in August, 52% of the passenger flow was restored at the David Agmashenebeli Airport, serving 45,922 passengers. At this stage, Kutaisi International Airport operates 3 airlines in 19 destinations in 11 countries.
Out of 188 flights performed at Kutaisi International Airport in August, 165 were regular and 23 were charter flights. In September, there will be 111 regular flights from Kutaisi International Airport to Europe and 52 regular flights to Asia. From September 28, Wizz Air will add the direction of Krakow from Kutaisi.
