Tourism revenues hit record high monthly figure in Jul-22
The tourist arrivals recovery jumped to 80.6% in Jul-22, up from 64.1% recovery in previous month (relative to pre-COVID levels). Same-day arrivals also climbed in July, recovering at 44.3% of Jul-19 level, up from a 33.3% in Jun-22. That said, 597.9 thousand international visitors (up 158.9% y/y, tourists and same-day arrivals combined) traveled to Georgia in Jul-22, with most visitors from Russia (26.2% of total), followed by Armenia (17.4% of total), and Turkey (16.1% of total). Notably, arrivals from Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, India and Uzbekistan surpassed Jul-19 levels. Most visitors traveled to Georgia via land (68.6% of total), followed by air (30.4% of total).
Notably, tourism revenues hit record high monthly figure US$ 476.1mn in Jul-22, surpassing 2019 level by 20.4%. Overall, in 7M22 tourist arrivals stood at 1.7mn persons (+162.5% y/y, 61.9% of 7M19 level) and tourism revenues reached US$ 1.6bn (+220.5% y/y, 87.4% of 7M19 level). Considering strong revenues of recent months, we expect full recovery of tourism in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic levels.
International reserves at US$ 4.2bn in Jul-22
Gross international reserves increased by 7.3% y/y to US$ 4.2bn in Jul-22 according to NBG. On a monthly basis, the reserves were up by 6.0% (+US$ 234.3mn). Notably, NBG purchased US$ 110mn through BMatch platform in Jul-22. Other changes in reserves were attributed to the government and banking sector FX operations, and/or asset revaluation.
NBG buys US$ 40.0mn
Last week, NBG intervened in the FX market and purchased US$ 40.0mn through FX auctions. The NBG is a net buyer of US$ 211.6mn year-to-date, while GEL appreciated by 12.3% vs. USD in the same period.
