EU and UK visits to Georgia hit a record 249,201 in the first half of 2026 while total tourism revenue fell 2 percent

Tourism revenue for January to June 2026 came in at 1.9 billion dollars, down 2 percent year on year, with the second quarter down 3.8 percent at 1.1 billion. International tourist visits were essentially flat at 2,272,964, up 2,601 visits. Total traveller visits, a wider category, fell 3.3 percent to 3,050,173. Against that backdrop, visits from the European Union and the United Kingdom reached a record 249,201, up 23.4 percent, and revenue from that group reached a record 335.7 million dollars, up 21.2 percent.

China recorded 54,554 visits, up 16.7 percent, and Central Asia 115,416, up 3.1 percent. These are small absolute numbers next to Georgia's traditional neighbouring markets, but they are the ones growing, and their growth is not weather-dependent in the way a regional road-trip market is. Air connectivity in the period was reported at 85 airlines operating 125 routes, which is the supply side of that story: the markets growing fastest are the ones that need a plane, and new routes are what makes them possible.

A flat visitor count with falling revenue means average spend per visit is under pressure, which is the opposite of what an owner wants. But the composition is shifting toward guests who fly in, stay longer and spend more. A property or a service aimed at that guest is positioned against the growing half of the market; one aimed at the high-volume, low-spend regional visitor is positioned against the shrinking half. The same national statistics therefore support two very different business cases, and which one applies depends entirely on who walks through your door.

Georgia publishes several overlapping visitor categories — tourists, travellers, same-day visitors — and they move differently, so a figure quoted without its category is close to meaningless. The revenue and visit figures above come from the National Tourism Administration as reported in July 2026, and they cover the first half of the year only; the autumn and winter numbers will land later and may not follow the same pattern. If a projection you are shown rests on a single national growth rate, ask which category it uses and which months it covers before you rely on it.