Ministry of Economy: “Trade turnover with Israel increased by 41% and the number of visitors by 36%.”
FactCheck concludes that the Ministry of Economy’s statement is TRUE.
Trade turnover with Israel remains minimal, accounting for less than 0.3% of total trade. However, growth of 61% and 42% in 2024 and 2025, respectively, was recorded as compared to the same periods of the previous year. Georgia also maintains a positive trade balance with Israel.Israel’s share is much higher in international tourism. It ranks fourth in terms of visitor numbers and third in tourism revenue. Israeli visitors accounted for 4.7% of total arrivals in the first half of 2024, rising to 6.1% in the first half of 2025. During the same period, Israel’s share of tourism revenue increased from 9.2% to 12.3%. Tourism revenue from Israel rose by 38% over six months – from USD 175 million to USD 242 million – as compared to the same period last year.Considering the factual accuracy and current trends, FactCheck concludes that the Ministry of Economy’s statement is TRUE.
Analysis
The Ministry of Economy reported: “Trade turnover increased by 41% between January and July 2025 whilst exports grew by 57%. Trade dynamics were also positive in 2024… The number of international visitors from Israel increased by 36% in the first half of 2025.”
Trade relations between Georgia and Israel remain limited. Trade turnover with Israel amounted to USD 59.4 million in 2024, representing just 0.25% of total trade of USD 23.4 billion. Its share rose slightly to 0.3% in January-July 2025, moving up one rank from 38th to 37th place.
Despite low trade volume, Israel is amongst the few countries with which Georgia maintains a positive trade balance, meaning that exports exceed imports.
Graph 1: Trade Turnover with Israel (USD Million)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
Exports to Israel are diversified. The top export was nuts at USD 4.1 million followed by fruits and vegetables at USD 4 million and coffee and tea in third place in 2024. A total of USD 27 million of the USD 37 million came from domestic export and USD 10 million from re-exports. Furthermore, USD 22 million of the USD 30 million total in January-July 2025 was domestic exports with mineral fertilisers taking first place at USD 3 million and nuts second at USD 2.7 million.
Similarly, imports are not dependent on a single product. Georgia imported USD 2.5 million worth of petroleum from Israel, USD 2 million in cosmetics and USD 1.7 million in detergents in 2024.
Israel’s share in international tourism is much higher compared to foreign trade. Israeli citizens visited Georgia 311,000 times in 2024, placing Israel fourth after Russia, Turkey and Armenia.
Israel’s share in tourism has grown particularly since the pandemic. Whilst in 2019 it accounted for 2.7% of tourism, by 2024 it rose to 4.8% and in the first half of 2025 reached 6.1%.
Graph 2: Number of Visitors from Israel
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia
Had the land border with Azerbaijan been opened, Israel would likely have moved to fifth place based on the experience prior to 2020. However, its share would still have been higher than in the pre-pandemic period, considering the growth in visitor numbers.
Israel’s share of tourism revenue reached 9.2% in the first half of 2024 and 12.3% in the first half of 2025 as compared to 6% in the first half of 2019.
Israel’s share of tourism revenue is roughly twice its share of visitor numbers, suggesting that an average visitor from Israel spends about twice as much as visitors from other countries. The average spending per Israeli visitor was GEL 3,580 in 2024, placing Israel fifth after Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. However, due to the higher number of visitors, Israel’s total spending exceeded that of all four of these countries.
Graph 3: Tourism Revenue from Israel (USD Million)
Source: National Bank of Georgia
Whilst Israel’s share in foreign trade is minimal, the trade balance is positive and recent trends show growth. However, Israel’s role is much more significant in tourism: Israeli visitors are amongst the highest spenders and Israel ranks third in tourism revenue. Both the number of visitors from Israel and the tourism revenue from them increased sharply in 2024 and in the first half of 2025. Considering these trends and the factual accuracy, FactCheck concludes that the Ministry of Economy’s statement is TRUE.
