Growth in the number of international hotel guests in Georgia outpaced tourism growth in 2016. The number of tourists was up 19.2% y/y to 2.7mn in 2016, while the number of international guests at hotels and hotel-type accommodations was up 42.8% y/y to 1.7mn, according to a survey conducted by Geostat. There was also strong growth in the number of domestic visitors staying at hotels in Georgia, up 27.0% y/y to almost 870,000.

Recreation and leisure visitors continue to be the leading driver of growth in the number of international hotel guests in Georgia. In 2016, the number of foreign visitors in this category increased almost three-fold from the 2014 figure and amounted to 1.2mn, or 74.6% of international guests. The number of international business visitors to hotels in Georgia, on the other hand, remains at approximately the same level as in 2014, with almost 270,000 visitors in 2016.

Hotel industry development in Georgian seaside resorts is picking up pace. Notably, the development is taking place outside the previous target areas. Paragraph Resort and Spa, with 220 rooms, opened its doors in Shekvetili in September. The first Best Western hotel, featuring 50 rooms, was also unveiled in Batumi in July 2017, but recent announcements point to investors shifting their attention to other parts of the Adjara region.

The number of international arrivals was up 27.4% y/y to 1.1mn in August 2017. Out of the top four source markets, there was strong growth from Armenia (+11.7% y/y), Azerbaijan (+18.5% y/y), and Russia (+27.8% y/y). The number of visitors from Turkey was up 42.2% y/y, but from a very low base in August 2016 (-41.6% y/y). Arrivals from the EU were up 29.8% y/y to over 47,000 visitors.

The tourist category continues to drive arrival growth in August 2017. The number of overnight visitors (‘tourist’ category) was up 27.2% y/y – after record growth in June and July 2017 – and accounted for 53.1% of international arrivals. Same-day arrivals and transit visitors posted high growth rates of 26.4% y/y and 28.5% y/y, respectively. The number of tourist arrivals is up 29.4% y/y to 2.4mn in 8M17, while the number of same-day visitors is up 1.8% y/y and the number of transit visitors is up 26.0% y/y.