TOPIC OF THE WEEK: Georgia notches another record-breaking year in tourism

CAUCASUS / CENTRAL ASIA - Report 13 Feb 2026 by Ivan Tchakarov

Tourism in Georgia has traditionally been an important income generator for the economy, having brought on average about 8.6 percent of GDP annually over 2010-2025 (and about 12.5 percent of GDP in both 2024 and 2025). Naturally, then, the events of the last two years spanning the adoption of the Transparency Law (foreign agents law) and the controversial parliamentary and local elections have raised legitimate concerns about how the more fraught political backdrop might affect the attractiveness of the country as a tourist destination. The question goes beyond pure economics as Georgian Dream and the opposition have been offering conflicting views on this issue.

The release of the full 2025 data for tourist flows, international arrivals and income generated by foreign travels should thus come as the final arbiter of that debate as it now covers two years of statistics on the sector. It has delivered a strong verdict in favor of the government. International arrivals increased by 4.2 percent in 2024 and further by 5.9 percent in 2025, while international visitors rose by 5.4 percent in 2024 and 6.9 percent in 2025. Moreover, 2024 and 2025 set two consecutive annual records in terms of income generated by foreign travel. Last year it brought US$4.7bn vs US$4.4bn in 2024 and US$4.1bn in 2023. The generated foreign exchange also plays an important role in offsetting the large trade gaps.

Deconstructing tourist flows explains the numbers. Tourism in Georgia depends relatively more modestly on visitors from the EU (who presumably might have decided to shun the country because of political events, as claimed by the opposition). Not only does the EU account for about 7 percent of total visitors, but it was also the case that, actually, more Europeans came to Georgia in 2024 vs 2023 and in 2025 vs 2024 despite the political events mentioned above. The bulk of visitors arrives from countries (Russia, Turkey, Armenia) that would tend to care less for what the Georgian opposition stands for.

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