The FINANCIAL — According to Georgian tour operators, France, Holland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy and Spain are considered the most popular European destinations. As the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Georgia’s officials say, 140,000 foreigners visited Georgia in May 2010.
“Most of the visitors that visited Georgia were from Ukraine, the United States, Germany, Israel, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Lithuania and Lithuania. Roughly half of the 140,000 visitors to Georgia were from Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Georgia’s officials said.
“Currently the most popular destinations for Georgians are Karlov, Var, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome and Milan. The average European ticket price is 350-480 EUR. The average 3 star hotel costs 30-40 EUR a day. And everyday excursions cost around 20-50 EUR,” said Elene Kirtadze, Main Manager of World Tour.
“80% of the country’s visitors are from Turkey and 20% from Europe. Even though it is only the beginning of the season, our client number has increased by about 20 %,” said Kirtadze.
According to Ella Karapetyan, Director of one of the leading Georgian tour operators SkyGe, the most visited European destinations from Georgia are: Spain, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, France, Hungary and Latvia.
“Air ticket prices start from 320-350 EUR. The hotel prices depend on their type and level, the average price of a hotel per night is 40-50 EUR,” said Karapetyan.
According to SkyGe’s Director, there was quite high demand for European destinations, but this year the demand for European destinations will increase by about 10%.
“Germany, France, the Czech Republic and Italy are among the most popular European destinations among Georgians,” Silk Way Georgia’s officials said.
“We have some special offers on for the summer. Low budget family tours in Europe start from 300 EUR for 8 days. The price does not include tickets. We also have a special offer on for Japan Excursion tours,” Kirtadze said.
According to Kirtadze, foreign tourists are most interested in visitng Tusheti, Svaneti, Kazbegi, Tbilisi and Mtskheta. Apparently Kakheti wine tours are also popular.
“At this stage Tbilisi and Batumi are the destinationsmost visited by foreign tourists in Georgia. We have served only four foreign visitors so far this June,” Exotour officials said.
“Foreigners most like to visit Svaneti and Khevsureti. Kakheti wine tours are also very popular,” said Karapetyan.
Lonely Planet has picked the brains of its authors, staff and travellers and come up with the top 10 countries to visit in 2010, and these are: EL Salvador, Germany, Greece, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Portugal, Suriname, and the USA.
Discussion about this post