Visitors
• In 3Q23, the number of international visitors grew 21.0% y/y to 2.3mn persons. The growth was equally driven by the rise in tourist arrivals (+15.4% y/y) and same-day visitors (+41.6% y/y). Turkey remained the largest contributor to visitor growth, followed by Russia in 3Q23.
• Despite growth, the number of international visitors in 3Q23 remains below 3Q19 levels (83.5% of 3Q19). The primary cause for this difference is the closed borders with Azerbaijan, with visitors from Azerbaijan reaching only 11.2% of the 3Q19 levels. Additionally, among the top contributing countries, visitors from Armenia (73.3% of 3Q19) and Ukraine (59.5% of 3Q19) also lag behind the 2019 figures due to ongoing regional conflicts.
Revenues
• In contrast to arrivals, tourism revenues in 3Q23 surpassed 3Q19 levels. Tourism revenues reached US$ 1.4bn in 3Q23 (equivalent to 128% of 3Q19 level). The growth can be attributed to several factors, including the inflation, GEL appreciation, a higher proportion of airport arrivals (typically high-spending visitors) and longer stays from certain top contributing countries. Russia accounted for 19.7% of the total tourism revenues, followed by Turkey (15.2%) and EU (14.6%) in 3Q23.
• We expect tourism revenues at US$ 4.2bn for the full 2023. Looking ahead to 2024, we project tourism revenues to reach US$ 4.5bn.
