Ryanair to enter Georgia

21.02.2016. The Irish low cost airline “Ryanair” expressed an interest towards Georgian air-market, – possibilities of initiating routes to Kutaisi were discussed during the working meeting conducted by the Prime Minister of Georgia with the Chief Commercial Officer of “Ryanair” David O’Brien.

During the meeting it was noted that the growth of interest of low cost airlines to Georgia is caused by the business environment in the country, growth of the tourist flow during the recent years and the possibilities provided to the Georgian citizens by the prospects of visa liberalization with the EU.

Pursuant to David O’Brien, the working group of the airline will study operational and infrastructural capacities of the Kutaisi International Airport. He also expressed hope that the negotiations and consultations with Georgian government will lead to positive results.

“We conducted fruitful and promising meeting with the Prime Minister. Now I am in a completely different spot from Ireland, which is a great privilege to me. I hope that soon we will be able to connect this part of Europe with another” – the Chief Commercial Officer of “Ryanair” David O’Brien noted upon the termination of the meeting.

Georgian National Tourism Administration presented its 2015 report

15.02.2016. Giorgi Chogovadze, the head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, has presented a 2015 report to the public. Last year’s statistical data, realized projects, tourism strategy, marketing campaigns, international touristic exhibitions, fam tours, publications, various events and planned projects are all observed in a 42-page brochure.

In Giorgi Chogovadze’s words, in 2015 Georgia hosted an unprecedented number of foreign visitors – 5 897 685. There were representatives of close to 400 media outlets as well as 150 tour operators among them. It should also be noted that in view of the new infrastructure development, the bike parks were created in Gudauri and Bakuriani and apart from that, 1 100 representatives of touristic industry have passed retraining courses in 15 cities of Georgia.

Georgia takes action to become more attractive to tourists

30.01.2016. Georgia is intensifying its work to attract tourists from the region and the world.

The country aims to become a weekend and holiday destination for international visitors.

Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili yesterday met with representatives of Georgia’s tourism industry and discussed ways to increase tourist numbers to the country.

Kvirikashvili asked the tourist agencies to prepare events all throughout the year as a way to attract more regional and international tourists.

"A lot of representatives from various tourism areas have gathered here today and I would like to have, very soon, a long-term campaign which will ensure as many tourists visit Georgia as possible,” the PM said.

"We should also discuss an event calendar for the whole year to make sure there is something happening every weekend and every holiday in Tbilisi that attracts tourists from the region and far away countries.”

Georgian airports served record number of passengers in 2015

14.01.2016. In 2015 Georgia’s Airports served a record number of passengers compared to previous years numbers.

The Aviation Agency of the Ministry of Economy published statistics showcasing that Georgian airports served 12% more passengers in 2015 than the previous year.

According to date, airports in Georgia served a record 2,261,006 passengers in 2015.

The report highlighted that usage of Georgian air space increased by 6.6% with the total number of flights reaching 123,364.

The number of regular and charter flights increased by 4.53%. Georgian airports made 11,409 regular and 2,259 charter flights in 2015.

According to statistics, almost 2 million passengers passed through Tbilisi airport, which was 17.25% more than last year, while Batumi airport served 226,476 passengers – 5.91% more than in 2014, and the airport in Mestia, in northern Georgia, hosted 232 percent more than in 2014.

Over 5 million foreigners visit Georgia in 2015

05.01.2016. Georgian tourism is once again on the rise as the latest statistics show that the number of foreign visitors has increased.

Around 6 million international arrivals were registered in Georgia since January 2015, the Information-Analytical Department (IAD) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has announced.

According to data, 5 897 685 people crossed the Georgian border during the previous year. This is an increase of 7% over the same period of 2014.

“The growing number of visitors (tourists, one-day visits and transit) to Georgia is important for the further development of the country’s tourism sector, as well as for increasing the inflow of foreign money,” the IAD said in a statement.

In total about half a million people visited Georgia in December 2015, which is 7 % increase to compare the same period of the last year.

According to the MIA statistics, 155,048 were tourists (6.2% more than in 2014), 89, 141 were transiting (2.2 percent more than in 2014) and 221,773 people came for other purposes (9.6 percent less than in December, 2014).