At the opening ceremony of the Mercure Tbilisi Old Town hotel, the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Gharibashvili, stated that about a hundred new hotels have been opened in Georgia since the Georgian Dream coalition government assumed office.
FactCheck took interest in the accuracy of Mr Gharibashvili’s statement and looked into it.
In order to determine the number of hotels in operation, we addressed the National Statistics Office of Georgia, requesting information about the number of opened hotels and hotel-type facilities from 2010 to 2015. A total of 367 hotels were opened from 2010 to 2013, 33 of which were built with the participation of a foreign investor. In these years, the largest number of hotels (117, ten with the participation of a foreign investor) was opened in 2011 whilst the lowest number was opened (78, six with the participation of a foreign investor) in 2010. A total of 88 hotels were opened in 2012 (seven with the participation of a foreign investor) and 84 in 2013 (ten with the participation of a foreign investor).
Chart 1: Number of Opened Hotels and Hotel-Type Facilities by Years
As we can see, the chart does not reflect the number of hotels opened in 2014 and 2015. The National Statistics Office of Georgia explained that this information is not yet available as it is currently being processed. However, the National Statistics Office managed to provide us with the number of finished hotel constructions. Hence, the statistics shown in Chart 2 reflect the number of finished hotel constructions and not the number of those actually opened. According to the data of the National Statistics Office of Georgia, the construction of a total of 204 hotels was concluded from 2010 to July 2015, comprising a total area of 462,578 square metres. Of these particular years, the largest number of hotel constructions was finished in 2014 (61) whilst the lowest amount was finished in 2010 (15). These numbers were 30 and 32 for 2011 and 2012, respectively, and 49 in 2013. The construction of 17 hotels was finished from January to June 2015.
Chart 2: Number of Finished Hotel Constructions from 2012 to 2015
The National Statistics Office does not yet possess information about how many of the constructed hotels were actually opened. Hence, the number of finished hotel constructions and the number of opened hotels are different.
Conclusion
At the opening ceremony of the Mercure Tbilisi Old Town hotel, the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Gharibashvili, stated that about a hundred new hotels have been opened in Georgia since the Georgian Dream coalition government assumed office. Statistical data show that a total of 283 hotels were opened from 2010 to 2012 (2010 – 78, 2011 – 117 and 2012 – 88). A total of 84 hotels were opened in 2013. As for 2014 and 2015, the statistics of opened hotels for these years have not yet been compiled and the National Statistics Office was only able to provide us with the number of completed hotel constructions. According to the National Statistics Office, the construction of a total of 78 hotels was finished in 2014 and 2015.
FactCheck concludes that Irakli Gharibashvili’s statement is TRUE.
As we can see, the chart does not reflect the number of hotels opened in 2014 and 2015. The National Statistics Office of Georgia explained that this information is not yet available as it is currently being processed. However, the National Statistics Office managed to provide us with the number of finished hotel constructions. Hence, the statistics shown in Chart 2 reflect the number of finished hotel constructions and not the number of those actually opened. According to the data of the National Statistics Office of Georgia, the construction of a total of 204 hotels was concluded from 2010 to July 2015, comprising a total area of 462,578 square metres. Of these particular years, the largest number of hotel constructions was finished in 2014 (61) whilst the lowest amount was finished in 2010 (15). These numbers were 30 and 32 for 2011 and 2012, respectively, and 49 in 2013. The construction of 17 hotels was finished from January to June 2015.
Chart 2: Number of Finished Hotel Constructions from 2012 to 2015
The National Statistics Office does not yet possess information about how many of the constructed hotels were actually opened. Hence, the number of finished hotel constructions and the number of opened hotels are different.
Conclusion
At the opening ceremony of the Mercure Tbilisi Old Town hotel, the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Gharibashvili, stated that about a hundred new hotels have been opened in Georgia since the Georgian Dream coalition government assumed office. Statistical data show that a total of 283 hotels were opened from 2010 to 2012 (2010 – 78, 2011 – 117 and 2012 – 88). A total of 84 hotels were opened in 2013. As for 2014 and 2015, the statistics of opened hotels for these years have not yet been compiled and the National Statistics Office was only able to provide us with the number of completed hotel constructions. According to the National Statistics Office, the construction of a total of 78 hotels was finished in 2014 and 2015.
FactCheck concludes that Irakli Gharibashvili’s statement is TRUE.
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