TBILISI WHO’S COMING
Georgia closed 2025 with a record 5.52 million international tourists (+8.4%) — Russia first with 1.58 million — and Tbilisi took 3.77 million visits; in 2026 the table has plateaued while the mix shifts toward the US, China and Korea.
Georgia’s 2025 was the strongest year in its history: 7.8 million international traveller arrivals (+5.9%), 5.52 million tourist-type visitors (+8.4%, 9% above the 2019 wall) and ₾15.0 billion in international spending (+5%; the National Bank counts a record $4.69 billion in travel revenue). The top of the table is geographic gravity: Russia 1.58 million (23%), Turkey 1.25 million, Armenia 948,000, then Israel 402,000 and Azerbaijan 292,000 — with India (142,000) and China (128,000) climbing. Over half of visits (57.6%) still enter overland; air took 41.6%, and Tbilisi airport handled 65.4% of that. Visitors stay 5.6 nights on average, and 73% of trips are repeats.
The first half of 2026 held the volume — 2.27 million international tourists, +0.1% year on year — while the mix shifted upmarket: Q1 arrivals from the US grew 19.3%, China +48.6%, South Korea +67.2%. The revenue ledger already showed the turn in late 2025: Q4 tourism receipts rose 9.2% to $1.1 billion, led by Israel (+37%) and the EU (+26.6%), while receipts from Russia fell 23.7% despite solid flows. Galt & Taggart forecasts 6.1 million visitors and $5.0 billion of revenue for 2026 — growth now priced on wallet, not headcount.
THE TIO READ
Read Tbilisi’s demand as two markets sharing one city: the neighbour base (repeat, overland, price-true) and the new long-haul rim (first-time, air, high-spend). The plateau in headcount is not weakness — it is the market trading volume for yield.
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