The head of the travel company "Adjara Tour" declares that since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, up to 10 thousand economic migrants have moved to Batumi, whose living expenses give the city a significant economic incentive.
Irakli Tavartkiladze states that their purchasing power is also high.
"Many eco-migrants have appeared from Russia and Belarus since March. These are mainly people who work remotely in IT or other fields, their main employers are international companies that refuse to pay salaries in Belarus and Russia, so many people moved to Batumi. We estimate that more than 10,000 people have been added to the city.
They create a lot of economic activity in our city, including restaurant services, renting apartments or buying other household baskets that people need to start living in a new city.
These are people with a minimum wage of EUR 3 thousand, which is quite a large figure for our region. Similar salaries are available to 1% to 3% of people in Georgia, so we meet them everywhere - in cafes, bars or entertainment venues. This is a very interesting activity for the economy," Tavartkiladze said.
