Russia’s Share in Georgia’s Tourism Revenues in March was 20%
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
In March, 20% of Georgia's tourism revenues ($ 25 million) came from Russia. In March 2022, the country received a total of $ 175 million from tourism, which is 71.3% of the 2019 figure - the highest recovery rate since the pandemic.
As for the share of other countries in March, 17% of tourism revenues came from Belarus, followed by Turkey (9%), Israel (9%) and the European Union (8%).
According to Galt & Taggart, the total figure also includes the expenditures of migrants from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine who arrived in Georgia after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war in the end of February. The exact number of migrants is not yet available, however, they create additional opportunities in different sectors of Georgia’s economy, such as trade, real estate, IT and such. This impact has already been reflected in increased prices in the real estate market.
Such as trade, real estate, IT, etc. and their impact has already been reflected in increased prices in the real estate market.
“Baseline scenario, we forecast a 75% recovery in tourism revenue in 2022 compared to 2019, although given the migrant effect, the likelihood of a faster recovery (85%) is increased,” the investment bank said in a statement.
As for the number of visitors, 188,394 international visitors visited Georgia in March 2022, which is an annual growth of 236.9% and 37% of the 2019 level. This increase was mainly due to the growth of tourists, which amounted to 49% of the 2019 level.
In March, Turkey led in the number of visitors (22.5% of the total), followed by Russia (12%) and Armenia (11.7%). It should be noted that the number of arrivals from Israel, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan has exceeded the 2019 level.
