1 million tourist visits in 3 months - new record high for Georgia
The Georgian National Tourism Administration has released the latest figures for the first quarter of 2026, revealing a new record for international tourist visits.
Between January and March 2026, Georgia welcomed 997,529 international tourist visits, marking a 4% increase (+38,582 visits) compared to the same period in 2025. This sets a historic high for tourist arrivals in the first three months of the year.
While tourism specifically saw growth, total international traveler entries (including transit and non-tourist visits) reached 1,300,505, a slight decline of 1.1% (-14,323 visits) year-over-year.
Turkey remains the primary source of visitors, contributing 238,368 visits in the first quarter. The Top 15 list of visitors includes neighboring countries alongside strategic markets such as the USA, UK, Germany, Poland, Israel, Kazakhstan, China, and India.
A significant milestone was reached in arrivals from the European Union and the United Kingdom, totaling 96,226 visits - a 30.2% increase over the previous year. Notable growth was recorded in:
Special growth was recorded from the following strategic markets:
The ongoing war in Iran and cancelled flights have negatively impacted visitor numbers from the following countries:
However, the Gulf States showed resilience with an overall 8.2% growth in visitors. While the UAE (-19.8%) and Kuwait (-18.7%) saw drops, other nations in the region experienced sharp increases:
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Georgia earns USD 829.8 million from travel in Q1 2026, with annual growth of 0.5%
21.04.2026.16:49
Georgia earned USD 829.8 million from travel revenues in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 0.5% increase compared with the same period of the previous year.
According to the National Bank of Georgia, the European Union’s share of international travel receipts in Q1 2026 stood at 17.0%, amounting to USD 140.7 million, a year-on-year increase of 36.4%.
The figures also show growth in revenues from Turkey and Ukraine, up 12.2% and 34.2% year-on-year, respectively, reaching USD 120.1 million and USD 45.3 million. Against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, travel revenues from Israel declined by 13.4% year-on-year, falling to USD 98.9 million.
Revenues from Russia continue to trend downward; receipts from Russian visitors to Georgia fell by 12.3% in the first quarter of 2026.
Georgia’s travel revenues by country of origin for Q1 2026 are distributed as follows:
Azerbaijan – USD 48.1 million
Belarus – USD 16.2 million
Turkey – USD 120.1 million
Iran – USD 9.7 million
Israel – USD 98.9 million
Russia – USD 124.3 million
Saudi Arabia -USD 12.9 million
Armenia – USD 28.8 million
Ukraine – USD 45.3 million
European Union – USD 140.7 million
Other Countries – USD 185.0 million.