Page 51 - GEORptNov19

flight ban would cost Georgia 0.6% of GDP in value added terms and including entire impact on the country’s economy.
However, G&T’s projections appear to conflict with preliminary data from the National Tourism Administration showing a decline in tourism revenues this year. International travel revenues in Georgia amounted to $2.2bn in January-August, down 0.4% y/y. In the peak summer month of August alone, revenues from international travel to Georgia amount to $396mn, down 10.6% y/y, the National Tourism Administration said.
G&T also forecasts the number of tourist arrivals in Georgia will increase by 5.2% y/y to 5mn in 2019.
In September 2019, total international visitors (tourists and day trippers) were up 2.7% y/y to 0.78mn people. Out of the total, Georgia hosted 0.53mn tourists (up 0.6% y/y) and 0.24mn day trippers (up 7.7% y/y) in September.
The slow arrival growth in September, as in the two previous months, reflected significantly reduced arrivals from largest source markets, Russia and Iran.
Georgia’s number of foreign arrivals in the three months since Russia in early July introduced a ban on flights between the two countries amid diplomatic rows rose by 4.6% y/y to 3.375mn, Business Media ​reported​, citing data from the National Tourism Administration.
As expected, however, the number of Russian arrivals dropped, falling by 12% y/y to 514,387. If a steady number of Russian visitors had been realised, overall arrivals growth would have been nearly 7% y/y, instead of 4.6%. Another important decline was seen in the number of visitors from Iran. That figure decreased by 52% y/y to 47,755. In absolute terms, the decline in Iranians was nearly 50,000 compared to the decline in the count of Russian visitors, measured at almost 70,000.
Azerbaijan became the main source of visitors in the three-month period (547,114), surpassing Russia (514,387).
The number of visitors coming from other countries increased significantly: there was a fifth more Ukrainians and Israelis, with the totals rising to 82,014 and 73,872, respectively. Among citizens of developed European countries, the Germans, French, Dutch and British were the most responsive to advertising and social network campaigns. The combined number for these nationalities was around a third up year on year. But altogether, their four countries only accounted for 75,000 of visitors, or 2.2% of the total. In terms of
51​ GEORGIA Country Report​ November 2019 ​ ​www.intellinews.com