Georgia welcomes over 3 Million international traveller visits in H1 2026
Georgia welcomed more than three million international traveller visits in the first half of 2026, including over 2.27 million international tourist visits, according to figures released by the Georgian National Tourism Administration.
The Administration said 2,272,964 international tourist visits were recorded between January and June, representing an increase of 2,601 visits (0.1%) compared to the same period in 2025. The total number of international traveller visits reached 3,050,173, marking a year-on-year decrease of 103,568 visits (3.3%).
Tourism revenues totalled $1.9 billion during the six-month period, representing a 2% decrease compared to the first half of 2025.
In the second quarter (April-June), Georgia recorded 1,275,435 international tourist visits, down by 35,981 visits (2.7%) year-on-year. International traveller visits totalled 1,749,668, representing a decline of 89,245 visits (4.9%) compared to the same period last year. Tourism revenues in the second quarter amounted to $1.1 billion, marking a 3.8% decrease year-on-year.
According to the Administration, the decline was driven by reduced tourist flows from countries directly affected by regional conflicts, as well as related restrictions on air travel. It added that the impact had been significantly mitigated through market diversification and active international marketing campaigns, which contributed to record growth from Europe and rising visitor numbers from China and Central Asia.
Between January and June, Georgia recorded a historic high of 249,201 visits from EU member states and the United Kingdom, representing a 23.4% increase compared to the same period in 2025. The second quarter also saw a record number of visits from these markets, reaching 152,975, up 19.4% year-on-year.
Tourism revenue from the EU and the UK reached a record $335.7 million in the first six months of the year, an increase of $58.6 million (21.2%) compared to the same period in 2025. Second-quarter revenue from these markets totalled $194.9 million, up $21.1 million (12.1%) year-on-year.
The Administration also reported 54,554 international visits from China during the first half of 2026, representing a 16.7% year-on-year increase, while second-quarter arrivals from China rose by 3.2%. International visits from Central Asian countries totalled 115,416, up 3.1%, with second-quarter growth reaching 6.9%.
The agency attributed the positive trends to its diversified market strategy, which includes large-scale international marketing campaigns aimed at increasing awareness of Georgia as a tourist destination while supporting the tourism sector. It noted that 85 airlines are currently operating flights to Georgia from 125 destinations - the highest number on record - with Norwegian launching the Copenhagen-Tbilisi route and China Eastern Airlines introducing Shanghai-Tbilisi services.
The Administration also cited the UN Tourism forecast, which projects global international tourism growth to slow by 3-4% in 2026, depending on the duration and geographical spread of ongoing regional conflicts.
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Maia Omiadze, Head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration, on Tuesday reviewed the summer tourism season, expressing confidence that positive trends in both visitor numbers and tourism revenue will continue.
Speaking about the sector’s performance, Omiadze noted that despite significant challenges at the beginning of the year, including hostilities in the Middle East, Georgia’s long-term diversification strategy helped mitigate the impact on tourism from the region.
“There were many challenges at the beginning of the year, but despite the military developments in the Middle East, we managed to minimise losses from the region’s tourism markets. We worked extensively before the start of the summer season and did everything possible to reduce those losses as early as the second quarter. As for the third quarter, it has been a very active season. I do not want to get ahead of the official figures, but we expect it to be a very strong quarter. Overall, positive year-on-year dynamics in both tourist arrivals and tourism revenue are expected to continue”, she said.
Omiadze stressed that expanding into new target markets and increasing the geographic reach of direct air connections remain crucial for sustaining stable growth and offsetting potential market fluctuations.
“What we have achieved is the result of a consistent and diversified policy. When you are not dependent on a single market and instead operate across multiple markets, you can compensate for fluctuations by redirecting or replacing visitor flows from one market with those from another. We worked actively with China, as well as European and Central Asian countries. New air routes were launched, while the frequency of existing flights was increased”, Omiadze concluded.
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