In 1Q26, international visitors to Georgia - comprising tourist arrivals and same-day arrivals - decreased marginally by 0.2% y/y to 1.2mn, reflecting the impact of Middle East escalation on travel flows in Mar-26. The decline was driven by a sharp drop in same-day arrivals (-19.0% y/y), while tourist arrivals increased by 4.0% y/y (85.2% of total).
Visitor flows weakened notably from Israel (-17.5% y/y), Iran (-48.8% y/y), Armenia (-11.2% y/y), India (-29.5% y/y), and Azerbaijan (-8.1% y/y). At the same time, arrivals increased from the EU (+30.2% y/y), Türkiye (+5.8% y/y), Russia (+5.2% y/y), China (+48.6% y/y), Ukraine (+24.5% y/y), and Saudi Arabia (+36.6% y/y). Notably, strong growth from Saudi Arabia drove an overall 8.2% y/y increase in visitors from Gulf countries in 1Q26.
According to Galt & Taggart’s estimates, tourism revenues in Mar-26 decreased by around 32% y/y. However, strong activity in Jan-Feb led total tourism revenues to increase by 1.4% y/y to US$ 837mn in 1Q26. We forecast tourism revenues at US$ 4.9bn for 2026.
