Visitors to Georgia on the increase

For the first six months of 2010, there were 782,932 visitors to Georgia, which is an increase of 36.4% in comparison with the same period in 2009.

Most of the visitors were from Europe - 96.2% of all visitors, which is an increase of 35.9% for January to June last year. The remaining proportion of visitors comprised 2.2% Asian (which is 60.6% more than last year), 1.2% American (27.5% more than last year), 0.2% Africa (208.3% more than last year), and 0.2% from the rest of the world (59.9% up from last year).

Of the 96.2% of visitors from Europe, 60.6% were from countries of the former Soviet Union in the first six months of 2010 (37% more than last year) - predominantly from Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development and the Department of Tourism and Resorts announced that their objective for the tourism industry is to "make Georgia one of the leading countries on the world tourism market." The increase in visitors this year was mainly due to the opening of several new hotels and the rehabilitation of roads.

The main tourism regions are currently Tbilisi - the capital; Batumi - a coastal resort; Signaghi - the wine district; and Borjomi-Kharagauli - mountainous national parks. The government is aiming to expand the tourist destinations by promoting the historic sites, interesting landscapes, and resort activities. The government also wants to promote cultural, adventure, eco-, ethno-, and medical tourism.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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