According to Shalva Alaverdashvili, founder of the Hotel Business Federation, the figures in tourism statistics do not reflect reality. He shared this view when discussing official data in the tourism sector.
He said that March was a complete "flop" for the sector, and this wasn't really reflected in the official numbers.
In the words of the Federation founder, there was growth in flows from India, Israel, and Dubai in January-February, but things changed dramatically after February 28th.
January-February saw a positive trend, particularly in Gudauri. However, due to the situation in March, flights from most major cities have been cancelled. We had no flights from India, Dubai, Qatar, Israel... The entire month of March was a failure. I was quite surprised by the new statistics. I would be pleased if it were true that the growth in the first two months entirely compensated for the failed March. However, we're not seeing that in reality,"- Alaverdashvili points out.
Alaverdashvili highlights a significant issue: the statistical growth in the number of visitors from Turkey. He believes that the current counting method which defines anyone staying in the country for more than 24 hours as a tourist, is inaccurate.
Speaking about the current trends, Shalva Alaverdashvili says that there are some promising signs. He points out that reservations from Israel showed the fastest recovery.
"For now, making predictions is impossible as it entirely depends on the changes in our region's situation," Shalva Alaverdashvili notes.
As per the National Tourism Administration, Georgia experienced a decrease in foreign tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2026. The period of January to March saw 1,300,505 international visitors that is 1.1% less (14,323 fewer visits) than in the corresponding period in 2025.
Based on the Administration data, Turkey led in terms of visits in the last 3 months with 238,368 visits. The top 15 tourist countries, along with neighboring ones, include the USA, UK, Germany, Poland, Israel, Kazakhstan, China, India, and other target markets.
