Georgia’s tourism industry is undergoing changes amid global and regional challenges, with disruptions to air travel, higher aviation fuel costs and more expensive air tickets affecting the behavior of international visitors, Discovery Georgia founder Nino Kekelidze said in an interview with TV-program Business Course.
According to Kekelidze, the sector faced a slowdown at the beginning of the year as regional conflicts and security risks led to canceled bookings and suspended flights. Tourism companies were forced to revise plans and transfer tours, while prices have since increased, particularly for air tickets and local services.
Kekelidze said these developments have changed the profile of international visitors to Georgia, with a growing share of tourists having low or medium spending capacity. She described the trend as unfavorable for the sector.
“The low- and medium-spending tourist is increasingly coming to Georgia, which is not a good trend. It is preferable to focus not on mass tourism and a large number of international visitors, but on attracting higher-spending tourists so that the country can receive greater economic benefits,” Kekelidze said.
