The FINANCIAL — The number of tourists that visited Georgia in the first 6 months of 2013 is 2,188,721, which is 29 percent higher than the same period of 2012, according to data provided by the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA).
Last year 4,428,221 tourists visited Georgia which was 57 percent more than in 2011, when just 2,822,363 tourists visited the country.
The majority of tourists still come from Georgia’s neighbouring countries, so the statistics show. This year the majority of tourists came from Turkey (772,425 tourists), Azerbaijan (440,839 tourists), Armenia (457,621 tourists) and Russia (260,616 tourists). As for the other countries, the leading positions are Ukraine (with 49,887 tourists), Iran (36,199 tourists), Israel (13,771 tourists), the USA (11,864 tourists), Poland (11,493 tourists) and Germany (8,682 tourists).
The most attractive places for tourists to visit so far this year have been the capital Tbilisi and the Adjara region, statistics show. 44 percent of tourists who visited Georgia in the first three months of 2013 went to precisely these locations, according to international travellers’ research. A total of 2,400 respondents were interviewed within the framework of the research. Mtskheta-Mtianeti is also one of the most popular places with visitors to Georgia, visited by 13 percent of total tourists. Kvemo Kartli hosted the same number of tourists as Mtskheta-Mtianeti (13 percent). As for the wine region of Kakheti, 7 percent of tourists travelled there whilst in the country.
More than 404,000 tourists visited Tbilisi from January-March of this year and almost the same number of tourists visited Batumi – 394,000 people. As for Mestia, which is another top destination for foreigners in Georgia, it was visited by 4,700 tourists, which is 0.5 percent of the total number of tourists that visited Georgia, according to the research.
The majority of visitors, 38 percent, came to Georgia for the purposes of entertainment, holiday and recreation. 20 percent of tourists visited Georgia to see friends and relatives. 19 percent came to Georgia for the purpose of transit. The numbers of tourists that named shopping and business activities as their main reason for coming to Georgia are 9 and 5 percent respectively, according to the statistics.
The majority of tourists in Georgia are men – 78 percent. Accordingly, women make up just 22 percent of total tourists. As for the age groups of tourists visiting Georgia, 30 percent of them are of the age of 25-34. The majority of them (39 percent) are employed.
The average duration of visits is 4 nights, but this figure differs according to the home countries of the individual tourists. Tourists coming from neighbouring countries tend to stay in Georgia for shorter periods of time: for those from Turkey it is on average 2 days, Armenia and Azerbaijan – 4 days. People from Russia, however, come and stay for longer periods of time on average – 8 days. Tourists from Europe stay for 7-11 nights on average and from other countries – for 16 nights usually.
Aggregate indicators of spending nights in Georgia exceed GEL 4.2 million out of which GEL 2.8 was spent by the residents of neighbouring countries.
Despite the official statistics proving increased numbers of tourists visiting Georgia, Mariana Metreveli, PhD, and Professor, Sector Economy and Economic Policy Committee, Leading Specialist (Expert on Tourism), Parliament of Georgia, queries whether the official statistics are providing exaggerated data.
“I have not seen any positive changes in tourism development so far. The situation is chaotic. Different research shows that mostly transit tourists are coming to Georgia. If that is correct, then it means that Georgia is a transit country and not a tourist destination,” said Metreveli.
“First of all our country should develop a proper tourism strategy. Otherwise tourism will never be adequately developed in Georgia. We might be seeing economic income from tourism in Georgia today, but unplanned and unorganized tourism development actually hampers the country ecologically, culturally and socially, and its recovery from this will require that much more money. Roads, communications, infrastructure, hotels, food and entertainment places, transportation – all of these are components of a tourism development strategy which has not yet been regulated here,” she added.
The Georgian Tourism Association has already started close cooperation with the state and private sector to identify all the issues and to work together on them, according to Nata Kvachantiradze, Director of the Georgian Tourism Association. For this purpose, it created the Tourism Advisory Board, which will create a long-term strategy for developing tourism in Georgia. One of the most important components will be creating a marketing strategy. The board will work on creating proper legislation and improving the service level.
“Tourism is one of the most important fields of the economy. The new government has already announced tourism as a priority direction for developing the Georgian economy. This announcement is important for the purpose of increasing international organizations’ interest in developing touristic infrastructure and education system in Georgia. Tourism is a profitable field and Georgia has unique opportunities in this direction,” said Nata Kvachantiradze.
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