Increasing Trends of Tourist Flows from the European Countries to Georgia

Abstract

Tourism is developing in Georgia and it is the fact that the exemption of visa limitations has had an important impact on the growth of tourist flows. It may be assumed that significantly increased flows of EU citizens to Georgia in recent years are an immediate result of the liberal visa policy. Research methodology: methods of statistical observation, grouping and analysis were used in the research process. The number of total visitors to the country and that from the European Union increases annually. As the data of 2018 suggest, the visits to Georgia for 72.9% of the international visitors were recurring, while 27.1% of the visitors were on their first visit in Georgia. Visits from the EU are most common in the III quarter of the year, i.e. in summer. EU visitors are mostly from Poland, Germany, UK, France, Lithuania and other countries. Most visitors are of the 26-35 age group. The most visited place is Tbilisi. The visits from the EU show a generally increasing trend, with the greatest increase fixed in 2018 as compared to the previous year; men dominate among the international visitors. The EU countries show a similar regularity; as to the age categories, 31-50 age group dominates among the international visitors and 26-65 age group dominates among the EU visitors; a leading country with the largest number of visits from the EU is Poland; the degree of satisfaction is high, with only 1.7% of the international inbound visitors being discontent.