International visitors at 2.5mn in 3Q25
In 3Q25, international visitors to Georgia increased by 6.8% y/y to 2.5mn persons. This growth was entirely driven by a 9.0% y/y rise in tourist arrivals, which accounted for 80.9% of total arrivals. Meanwhile, same-day arrivals declined by 1.4% y/y in the same period. Visitors from Russia (+13.9% y/y) were the largest contributor to the total arrival growth, followed by EU (+16.7% y/y), Azerbaijan (+33.2% y/y, despite continued closure of the land border for leisure travel), Israel (+18.2% y/y) and China (+47.4% y/y). On the downside, arrivals from Iran (-33.7% y/y), Armenia (-4.4% y/y) and Türkiye (-1.4% y/y) contracted. Notably, most visitors traveled to Georgia via land (59.7% of total), followed by air (39.5% of total).
Overall, in 9M25, Georgia hosted 5.3mn international visitors (+5.6% y/y), including 4.3mn tourists (+7.9% y/y) and 1.0mn same-day travelers (-2.9% y/y).
Goods exports increased by 14.2% y/y in Sep-25
In Sep-25, goods exports increased by 14.2% y/y to a record monthly high of US$ 703.1mn, reversing a 5.9% y/y decline in previous month. Goods imports edged down by 0.3% y/y to US$ 1.4bn, following a 3.4% y/y drop in previous month. Consequently, the trade deficit narrowed by 11.0% y/y to US$ 737.3mn in Sep-25.
Overall, in 9M25, the trade deficit widened by 11.0% y/y to US$ 8.2bn, as exports grew by 7.7% y/y to US$ 5.2bn and imports were up by 9.7% y/y, reaching US$ 13.4bn.
Money transfers increased by 12.1% y/y in Sep-25
Money transfers increased by 12.1% y/y to US$ 317.8mn in Sep-25, following a 10.7% y/y growth in previous month. Among the top countries, inflows grew from the EU (+12.1% y/y, 47.3%), the USA (+21.7% y/y, 18.8% of total), Russia (+10.2% y/y, 12.4% of total), Israel (+12.6% y/y, 7.3% of total) and Türkiye (+14.3% y/y, 3.2% of total). In contrast, transfers declined from Kyrgyzstan (-6.3% y/y, 2.7% of total) and Kazakhstan (-6.1% y/y, 2.4% of total).
Overall, in 9M25, money transfers increased by 6.4% y/y to US$ 2.7bn. Considering higher-than-expected growth in 9M, we now anticipate money transfer at US$ 3.6bn for 2025, revised upwards from the previous estimate of US$ 3.5bn.
