The number of international arrivals was up 13.1% y/y to 0.51mn in March 2017. Out of the top five source markets, there was strong growth from Armenia (+11.2% y/y), Azerbaijan (+11.1% y/y), Russia (+16.3% y/y), and Ukraine (+16.5% y/y). The number of arrivals from Turkey was down (-17.3% y/y), largely due to the maintenance works at the Sarpi customs clearance, which have led to long delays in crossing the border. Arrivals from the EU were up 9.5% y/y to over 15,000 visitors
The number of international arrivals was up 11.4% y/y to 1.27mn visitors in 1Q17. The number of visitors increased from all major countries except for Turkey (-14.0% y/y). Armenia (+15.2% y/y) and Russia (+28.1% y/y) were the largest contributors to overall growth, with Ukraine also posting double-digit growth (+17.3% y/y). The number of visitors from Azerbaijan posted a modest increase of 4.2% y/y from the high base of 1Q16 (+24.6% y/y).
While the top four source markets accounted for 83.2% of international arrivals in 1Q17, secondary source markets also posted robust performances. The number of Indian visitors was up 2.5x to almost 12,000, while the number of Israeli visitors increased 80.4% y/y to over 8,000 visitors. Arrivals from the EU were up 16.2% y/y in 1Q17 to almost 39,000 visitors, with Germany (+27.5% y/y), Poland (+33.8% y/y), and United Kingdom (+16.3% y/y) driving the growth.
The tourist category continues to drive arrival growth in March 2017. The number of overnight visitors (‘tourist’ category) was up 28.6% y/y and accounted for 43.0% of total international arrivals. Same-day arrivals were down 0.6% y/y, while the number of transit visitors was up 14.3% y/y in March 2017. The number of tourist arrivals is up 25.7% y/y to 0.51mn in 1Q17, compared to 0.41mn in 1Q16. The number of same-day visitors is down 1.6% y/y, while the number of transit visitors is up 17.5% y/y in 1Q17.
