In the first quarter of the year, foreign tourists spent 1.2 billion GEL on their visits to Georgia, which is 15.2% less than during the same period last year. According to GeoStat, average spending per tourist fell by 16.1% to 889.7 GEL per visit.
Although the number of tourists in Georgia doubled during the period between 2012 and 2017, the average spend per tourist increased only slightly, from $318.6 to $364.2. In this regard, Georgia is trailing countries with similar economies, where the average sums spent by tourists per visit range between $500 and $800.
According to the World Bank data for 2016, the average spend per tourist in various countries across the world was as follows:
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Hungary – $1400
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Azerbaijan – $1400
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Turkey – $900
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Cyprus – $900
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Armenia – $750
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Czech Republic – $750
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Latvia – $700
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Poland – $650
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Greece – $600
Although the share of tourism in the Georgian GDP is relatively low compared to many other countries, it still exceeded 15% in 2016. In comparison, the equivalent figure for Montenegro was 21%, and 19% for Croatia. In terms of the share of tourism in the country’s GDP, Georgia is ahead of countries such as Greece, where the figure is below 8%.
