Tourism revenue exceeded USD 4.4 billion in 2024. Whilst this is a historic high, beyond the nominal figure, it is also worth examining the sector’s growth rate in previous years, its contribution to GDP and how much it has increased as compared to the pre-pandemic period when adjusted for inflation.
Excluding the pandemic year of 2020, nominal tourism revenue rose steadily every year, including during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. Annual growth rates surpassed 30-40% in early stages of the sector’s development, peaking at 50% in 2012. Maintaining that pace would have been unrealistic; if it had continued, tourism revenue would have reached USD 24 billion by 2019 – 7.3 times larger than the actual figure.
The sector’s strongest pre-pandemic years were 2017 and 2018 following the early boom with revenues rising by 29% and 18%, respectively.
The tourism growth rate fell to 1.4% in 2019. A quarterly breakdown offers a more detailed picture: growth constituted 5% in the first quarter, rising to 9.4% in the second; it dropped by 7% in the third, finally rebounding by 5% in the fourth. The sharp decline in the third quarter was driven by the suspension of direct flights from Russia. Moscow halted air travel between the two countries on 8 July 2019. It is worth noting that the slowdown in growth had already begun before the flight ban was implemented.
Post-pandemic signs of recovery emerged as early as 2021 followed by a stronger rebound in 2022-2023. The years 2020,2021 and 2022 fall outside the general trend due to the extraordinary effect of the pandemic – for this reason, neither the 83% decline nor the 182% surge during this period are directly relevant for comparison.
Tourism revenue rose by 7.3% in 2024 – approximately the same rate that likely would have been recorded in 2019 had flights from Russia not been suspended (by assumption based on the growth recorded in the first half of 2019).
Tourism revenues reached USD 3.3 billion in 2019 and USD 4.4 billion in 2024 with the nominal growth amounting to 35% during this period. However, the growth rate drops to 10% when adjusted for the USD purchasing power as USD 4.4 billion in 2024 is equivalent to USD 3.6 billion in 2019 dollars. Nominal tourism receipts showed a growth of 214% from 2012 to 2024, whilst the real growth stood at 128%, when adjusted for inflation. Notably, 2019 shows a slight decrease in revenue rather than a modest increase when considering price growth.
Georgia experienced elevated inflation during and after the pandemic with consumer prices rising by 34% between 2020 and 2024. Whilst the real growth in tourism revenue during this period would be close to zero, adjusting for domestic inflation, the more accurate estimate for real growth between 2019 and 2024 remains around 10% as international tourism revenues are measured in USD under global practice.
Graph 1: Tourism Revenue (USD Million)
Source: National Bank of Georgia, Bureau of Labour Statistics of the US
Despite tourism revenues surpassing the pre-pandemic levels in 2022, the real recovery occurred later – in 2023 – when adjusted for the USD purchasing power.
As for the number of visits, the total figure remains below the 2019 level. However, the number of direct tourist visits has increased by a mere 0.2%.
Table 1: Tourism Statistics (1,000 Visits)
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia
The incomplete recovery in visitor numbers can be attributed to both objective and subjective factors. The sharpest decline is observed in arrivals from Azerbaijan. Over 1.5 million visitors came to Georgia from Azerbaijan in 2019 whilst in 2024 that number had dropped by 1.3 million to just 219,000. This substantial decline is largely due to an official decision by Baku to keep Azerbaijan’s land borders closed, citing COVID-19 prevention – a restriction that remains in place to this day.
Visitor numbers from European Union have also declined by 10%. A total of 485,000 visitors from the 28 EU countries (including the United Kingdom) travelled to Georgia in 2019 as compared to 438,000 in 2024. A decrease was recorded in 17 of the 28 countries. Declines were also noted from Norway and Switzerland. Outside of Europe, Japan registered a fall in visitor numbers whilst rises were observed from South Korea, China and the US. The number of visitors from Pakistan doubled whilst arrivals from India rose by 127% - from 55,000 in 2019 to 124,000 in 2024.
Table 2: Top 15 Countries by Visitors (1,000 Visitors)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
Only one EU country – Germany – appeared amongst the top 15 countries by number of visitors to Georgia. There were two in 2019: Germany and Poland. The US was also amongst the top 15 in 2019 but did not make the list in 2024.
The share of visitors from EU countries rose slightly from 6.3% in 2019 to 6.8% in 2024. However, the EU’s share would likely have decreased had Azerbaijan reopened its borders.
Both the number of visitors from the EU and tourism revenues have been declining since the second quarter of 2024 – a trend that continued into the first quarter of 2025. This shift coincides with the reintroduction of the so-called Russian-style law, which was submitted to the Parliament on 3 April 2024, at the start of the second quarter – a move that has sparked large-scale protests and heightened political tensions with the EU.
Graph 2: Dynamics of Tourism Revenues and Visitor Arrivals from EU Countries (Including the UK)
Source: National Bank of Georgia, Ministry of Internal Affairs
Despite accounting for a relatively small share of total visitors, the EU’s share of tourism revenues is nearly twice as high – 12.9% – indicating that tourists from EU countries spend approximately twice as much as the average visitor from other countries.
Graph 3: Tourism from the EU
Source: National Bank of Georgia, Ministry of Internal Affairs
Who spends how much in Georgia? The Georgian National Tourism Administration has not published its annual report for 2024 as of now. However, the 2023 report lists spending data for several non-neighbouring countries. Ukrainian visitors ranked first, spending an average of GEL 5,600, followed by Kazakhstan with GEL 4,000 and Saudi Arabia with GEL 3,900.
The National Bank of Georgia excludes spending by individuals who have stayed in the country for over one year from tourism income according to the International Monetary Fund methodology. Notably, 23.9% of Ukrainian citizens, 24.4% of Russian citizens and 26.9% of Belarusian citizens in Georgia had exceeded this one-year threshold as of 31 March 2025.
The National Bank reported figures based on spending by international travellers whilst the Tourism Administration tracked visits in 2024. The total number of trips exceeded the number of individual visitors by 14%. Israeli citizens would rank first in per capita spending in 2024, with an average of USD 1,230, when assuming a consistent 14% difference across all countries. They are followed by Saudi Arabian citizens at USD 1,215, EU citizens at USD 1,145, Ukrainians at USD 1,100, Russians at USD 525 and Turkish citizens at USD 400. Whilst this estimate is not exact, it provides a useful overview of general spending patterns and trends.
Tourism plays a significant role in GDP formation, although the revenue received from tourism is not directly equated with GDP contribution. Five main components are used to calculate the impact of the tourism sector according to GeoStat: land and water transport, air transport, accommodation, food and beverage services and travel agency services. These five sectors generated GEL 3.6 billion in 2019 with tourism accounting for 8.3% of GDP. Whilst this figure had increased to GEL 5.9 billion by 2024, tourism’s share of GDP declined to 7.3%.
Tourism remains an important component of Georgia’s economy, although its share in GDP formation has declined. The growth rate of tourism income in monetary terms had already begun to slow before the pandemic. Revenue from tourism has increased by 35% as of 2024 as compared to 2019 in nominal terms but only by 10% when adjusted for the USD purchasing power. The total number of visitors has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels whilst the number of direct tourist visits has surpassed the 2019 figure by a modest 0.2%. Baku’s continued closure of Azerbaijan land border has had a significant impact on overall visitor numbers. Additionally, deteriorating relations with Brussels have contributed to a decline in tourists from the European Union. Whilst EU tourists never accounted for a large share of total visitors, they are notable for their higher spending. Another challenge is the quality of infrastructure and services – an issue that warrants separate analysis. It can be said for now that whilst tourism has largely recovered as compared to the pre-pandemic period, the recovery remains incomplete and marked by setbacks.
