The FINANCIAL — According to the leading Georgian Tour Operators interviewed By The FINANCIAL, Egypt is currently the most popular destination for Georgian travellers.
In 2009 the Top Ten Travel Destinations were dictated by the Credit Crunch, experts claim. “People wanted good holidays at affordable prices and could not really afford the luxurious resorts that they would normally visit.”
According to official data Georgia hosted 600,000 visitors in the first six months of 2009. The number of tourists fell compared to the same period of the last year, except for July when Georgia hosted 2.9% more visitors.
Almost 1,300,000 foreigners visited Georgia in 2008.
According to the inquired tour operators in Georgia, Turkey was the top destination for the year 2009.
“Turkey was the most demanded destination in Georgia for 2009. Turkey is not very far from Georgia and is also a relatively cheap country, that’s why Georgians prefer to visit Turkey for their holidays,” says Niko Kululashvili, Incoming Manager of Exotour.
“Egypt leads among the most popular destinations at the moment and is quite in demand among Georgian tourists. In 2009 Turkey was dominating among the most popular destinations chosen by Georgian tourists. The popularity of these destinations with Georgians is due to their cheap costs and warm climate,” Mamuka Kelauradze, Tourism Manager of Levon Travel LLC, told The FINANCIAL.
According to Ntour, the most demanded destination in 2009 was Turkey, followed by Israel and Egypt and at the moment the most demanded ones are Egypt and Israel over the Easter period.
One of the leading Georgian tour operators, Business Travel com Director, Ella Karapetian, also agrees that last year Turkey was the most demanded travel destination whereas according to today’s statistics, Egypt is the most often visited destination by Georgians.
“Georgia at the moment is mostly visited by tourists from Belgium, Italy and Israel. While Gudauri and Bakuriani in winter and Kakheti in the Summer represent the regions of Georgia that are most visited by foreigners,” Kelauradze notes.
“In our view, tourists from Israel, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Ukraine visit Georgia the most. The most interesting places in Georgia for foreign visitors are Kakheti, Bakuriani, Gudauri, and Black Sea resorts. Jewish tourists are also interested in Jeep-tours,” Ntour officials note.
“Georgia is mostly visited by tourists from different European countries; Kakheti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Kazbegi, Svaneti and Adjara regions are the most visited by foreign tourists,” Niko Kululashvili, Exotour says.
The majority of companies interviewed by The FINANCIAL say the number of tourists has decreased. But Exotour said in 2009 they served more tourists than in previous years.
“There might be a small increase in the number of tourists this summer and demand for holidays will most likely be for Turkey, Bulgaria and various European countries,” Kelauradze says.
“For the year 2010 we expect more tourists in Georgia. In my view, the Adjara region will be visited by a huge number of tourists, as this region really resembles Europe the most. Our company this year is offering customers unforgettable tours to Europe, Tel Aviv and Egypt,” Ella Karapetian says.
“We do think that the number of tourists visiting Georgia in 2010 will significantly increase, not until the black sea resorts become more modern and developed,” Ntour officials note.
BusinessTravelCom offers hot tours in Sharm El Sheikh for 2 person on 10 night All inclusive. 3 star hotel price starts from Euro 800. 4 star hotel price starts from Euro 900. 5 star hotel starts from Euro 1100.
Airzena, Georgian Airways has stopped offering tours to Thailand, Nino Giorgobiani, company representative told the FINANCIAL. Thailand packages were broadly advertised during the Christmas period. But as the demand was low, Airzena conducted one charter flight only.
“Taking into consideration that this trip is seasonal, Airzena has stopped offering Thy tour. But later we reduced cost of tour packages that generated much more demand on this tour, so we plan to offer charter flights to Thailand next winter”, Giorgobiani said.
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