An unprecedented number of tourists visited Georgia in 2019

The number of international travelers to Georgia hit 9,357,964 in 2019, reported the Georgian National Tourism Administration. It is an increase of 7.8% compared to the previous year. 

Mariam Kvrivishvili, the Head of the Georgian Tourism Administration, noted on the press conference held on January 10 that it was a year full of challenges; but with hard work, the administration executed an anti-crisis plan together with the private sector in response to the Russian flight ban.

"The GNTA worked to raise the awareness of the country in the target tourism markets, to enhance the service of tourism and to attract investments,” continued Kvrivishvili.

The international travelers increased from those countries GNTA held marketing campaigns, including Germany (38.1%), the UK (27.5%), Poland (32%), the Netherlands (25.8%) and France (28.4%).

"This year, we are going to continue marketing campaigns to increase the awareness of Georgia, and increase the earnings from tourism, increase employment… We aim to diversify tourism markets, increase the number of tourism markets, create new tourism services, and also help businesses involved in the tourism sector,” noted Kvrivishvili.

From the 9.3 million visits, 7.7 million were international visitors, a 7.3% rise compared to 2018. Out of those visits, 5 million were tourists who spent at least one night in Georgia. This is a 6.8% rise compared to the previous year.