Georgia breaks tourism records with $2 billion in just six months

Georgia’s tourism sector has reached unprecedented heights, with revenues hitting a record $2 billion in the first half of 2025 — marking a 3.8% increase compared to the same period last year, the National Tourism Administration announced on July 22.

The new figures also show that the country’s tourism earnings have exceeded pre-pandemic levels by a wide margin, surpassing the January–June 2019 results by 35.4%, Caliber.Az reports, citing Georgian media.

The growth has been driven by strong increases in tourist spending from key markets. Revenue from Israeli visitors surged by 37.9%, while income from travellers from the European Union and the United Kingdom rose by 12.5%. There were also notable gains from Azerbaijan (up 30.7%), Saudi Arabia (up 18.9%), and Armenia (up 2.8%).

In terms of arrivals, Georgia hosted 3.2 million international travellers in the first six months of 2025 — an increase of 4.4% year-on-year. Of those, 2.3 million were tourist visits, reflecting a 6.9% rise compared to the same period in 2024.

Russian citizens accounted for the largest share of visits during this period. Nearly 581,100 Russian nationals entered Georgia between January and June 2025, representing a 10.2% increase from the first half of the previous year.

By Tamilla Hasanova