Mountain infrastructure and facilities are becoming more attractive for visitors. The new 1,200m Mestia-Hatsvali chairlift will become operational on December 23rd. The chairlift connects the Hatsvali ski resort with Mestia, eliminating the need to use road transportation to get to the slopes.
According to the 2018 draft state budget, GEL 60.0mn will be allocated for the Kobi-Gudauri project. The 7.5km Kobi-Gudauri air lift, connecting the Gudauri ski resort with Kazbegi, is expected to be finalized in 2018. In addition, GEL 12.0mn will be allocated for the creation of an artificial lake in Gudauri.
The first international branded hotel in Georgian winter resorts is now open to visitors. Best Western Plus Bakuriani added 70 rooms to the resort’s accommodation stock. Radisson Blu in Gudauri and Ramada Resort in Goderdzi are also expected to be completed by end-2018. Adjara Group Hospitality has announced development plans for the Kokhta-Mitarbi resort.
The number of international arrivals was up 14.1% y/y to 0.52mn in November 2017. Out of the top four source markets, Russia was the top performer (+35.2% y/y), while Armenia (+7.2% y/y) and Azerbaijan (+11.2% y/y) also posted solid growth. The number of visitors from Turkey also increased (+6.8% y/y) for the fifth consecutive month. Arrivals from the EU were down 1.0% y/y to over 14,000 visitors.
The tourist category continues to drive arrival growth in November 2017. The number of overnight visitors (‘tourist’ category) was up 21.8% y/y and accounted for 38.4% of international arrivals. The transit category was also a major contributor (+33.4% y/y), while the number of same-day arrivals was roughly flat. The number of tourist arrivals in 11M17 is up 27.6% y/y to 3.2mn, already surpassing the annual figure for 2016 by 0.5mn tourists.
