The number of outbound visits by Georgian visitors from above-mentioned figure amounted to 603.0 thousand, 6.8% lower compared to the same period of 2023.Outbound visitors made 402.1 thousand tourist-type visits, which is 1.1% higher compared to the same period of the previous year. The chart below shows the distribution of visits made by outbound visitors by the type of visit.The majority of outbound visits, 47.4%, were made by the visitors of age group 31-50. The number of visits made by women equaled 47% of the total number of visits.In 3Q2024 the purpose of the majority of outbound visits (32.0 percent) was visiting friends/relatives.The majority of outbound visits were made in Turkey and Russian Federation, 237.4 thousand and 119.0 thousand respectively. The chart below illustrates the distribution of outbound visits by the visited countries.

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The average hotels price in Georgia was 251.41 GEL in January (34.7% more compared to January 2023), in February - 199.23 GEL (21.5% more), in March - 175.51 GEL (0.1% less) , in April - 222.95 GEL (9.2% less). in May - 209.03 GEL (without data), in June - 191.96 GEL (46.7% less), in July - 190.38 GEL (50% less), in August - 211.88 GEL (26.2% less), in September - 208.24 GEL (10.8% less).The average price of hotels in Istanbul in January was 3,134.19 lira, or  252.20 GEL (2.8% less compared to January 2023), in February - 2,566.26 lira or 206.50 GEL (14.5% more), in March - 2,715.64 lira or 218.52 GEL (15.7% less), in April - 3,552.75 lira or 285.88 GEL (0.5% more), in May - 3,796.45 lira or 305.49 GEL (without data), in June - 3,285.56 GEL , or 264.38 GEL (18.6% less), in July - 3,147.98 lira or  253.31 GEL, in August - 3,226.53 lira or 259.63 GEL (10.3% less), in September - 3,203.04 lira or 257.74 GEL ( 6.9% less).The average price in hotels in Azerbaijan in January was 87.5 manats (138.35 GEL), which was 7.3% more compared to the same period last year. In February, it cost 102.6 manats or 162.23 GEL, (29.3% more), in March, the average price in Azerbaijan hotels was 134.3 manats or 212.36 GEL (43.3% more), in April . - 131.7 manats or  208.24 GEL (37.7% more), in May - 131.75 manats or 208.32 GEL (without data), in June - 138.75 manats or 219.39 GEL (4, 5% less), in July - 136.75 manats or 216.23 GEL (8.4% less), in August - 118 manats, or 186.58 GEL (48.5% less). In September, the average price in Azerbaijan's hotels was 126.8 manats or 200.50 GEL (1.2% less).

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With 60 participating producers, the Unique Georgian Taste agromarket featured dairy and meat products, alcoholic beverages, as well as artisanal confectionery, honey, almond products, jams, and other culinary delicacies. Most participating producers also attended a food safety and labelling training held by the FAO National Food Safety Expert - Salome Gigashvili. During the capacity-building session, the producers of niche and terroir products learned about ensuring food safety in production, as well as the importance of labelling, thus allowing consumers to know exactly what they are purchasing.Notably, FAO, under the ENPARD IV of the EU and Sweden, is supporting the agromarket participants in identifying the nutritional composition of their products so that they can create labels for them. By the end of 2024, FAO anticipates that the producers at Unique Georgian Taste will have their products fully labelled to improve their market competitiveness.The participating producers have benefited from EU and Sweden-funded FAO projects in Georgia. They have received matching grants to improve their agricultural ventures or utilised relevant training opportunities.“EU actively supports Georgian farmers and producers in advancing their production with modern equipment, methodologies, and good practices. Implementing today’s food safety standards is key in building the required loyalty and trust for local and international consumers. I am therefore glad to see that so many producers of niche and terroir products are keen to comprehensively integrate these standards in their practices and hence help people discover the country’s rich agricultural heritage,” said Denis Reiss, Programme Officer for Sustainable Food Systems at the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia.“With the Unique Georgian Taste agromarket, FAO has supported 70 participating producers by allowing them to access the market in this format. The event’s success is clearly demonstrated by the impressive results that the participating producers have achieved. They have reported at least a 15 per cent increase in their sales, as well as a 35 per cent increase in collective income. Through training opportunities and the commercial platform that the Unique Georgian Taste has become, we are continually ascertaining that high-quality, nutritious, unique, and importantly safe products are very much in demand on the Georgian market,” says Guido Agostinucci, FAO Programme Manager.About the European UnionFor more than 30 years, the European Union has built a close partnership with Georgia, supporting its development through knowledge and experience sharing, expertise, innovation and financial support. The relationship between the EU and Georgia is based on shared values of peace, freedom, democracy, human rights and inclusive economic growth. About the projectThe European Union supports rural development in Georgia through its ENPARD Programme. Aiming to reduce rural poverty, ENPARD has been implemented since 2013. The Programme started by supporting the development of national agriculture potential. Subsequently, it also concentrated on creating economic opportunities for rural populations in Georgia. Since 2021, the Programme has also been working on improving food safety in the country, with additional support from Sweden, and with FAO and the Czech Development Agency as the main implementers of this food safety component under ENPARD IV.

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They have been hosted in the capital city of Tbilisi, the historical capital of Mtskheta, and visitor destinations in the west, east and north of the country, including Tskaltubo, Martvili Canyon, Mestia, Ushguli, Sighnaghi, Lopota, and Lagodekhi National Park.They also joined the Gemo Fest food and drinks festival in the western city of Zugdidi last weekend, where they experienced Georgian cuisine.“Georgia is a beautiful country. We have loved everything we have seen here so far. I think it will be interesting for Indians that it is easy to get from Delhi to Georgia by direct flight”, said Kunl Bharti.The visiting journalists intend to publish articles and posts covering mining and health resorts, culture, cuisine, wine, nature, and adventure tourism of the country, among other areas.

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In 1H24, tourist arrivals rose by 10.0% y/y to 2.1mn individuals, reaching 99.8% of the levels seen in 1H19.Consequently, tourism revenues increased by 5.2% y/y, hitting a record high of US$ 1.9bn in 1H24.“We project tourism revenues to reach US$ 4.3bn for 2024, up from US$ 4.1bn in 2023”, - G&T said.

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As of the document, most of the arrivals, 45.1 percent, were made by travellers of age group 31-50.The number of visits by international visitors from above-mentioned figure amounted to 1.5 million, 4.6 percent higher compared to the same period of 2023.In the II quarter of 2024 the number of international visitors equaled 1.3 million, which is 5.5 percent higher compared to the same period of the previous year. In the reporting period, international visitors made 1.2 million tourist-type visits, which is 9.2 percent higher compared to the same period of the previous year.77.2 percent of international visitors were only tourists . The share of excursionists5 amounted to 18.8 percent, while 4.0 percent of visitors were both tourists and same-day visitors.In the II quarter of 2024 the largest number of visitors (287.2 thousand visitors) was from Turkey, which amounted to 22.5 percent of the total number of visitors. On the second place is Russian Federation with 20.9% share and on the third place – Armenia with 10.6% share. Correspondingly, the largest number of visits were made by the citizens of Turkey (369.4 thousand), Russian Federation (312.1 thousand) and Armenia (195.9 thousand).The majority of visitors (46.9 percent) belonged to the age group of 31-50. The number of women equaled to 40.6 percent of the total number of visitors.In the II quarter of 2024 the purpose of the majority of inbound visits (53.7 percent) was holiday, leisure and recreation.The majority of visits were made in Tbilisi and Adjara A/R, 850.4 thousand and 569.2 thousand, respectively. The chart below illustrates the distribution of visits by the visited regions.In the II quarter of 2024 the average number of nights spent during the visits equaled 5.1 nights, which is 5.1 percent higher than the same figure of the II quarter of 2023 (4.8 nights). 73.9 percent of visits was repeating visit. The chart below shows the distribution of visits by the level of satisfaction in the II quarter of 2024.The expenditures during the visits made in the II quarter of 2024 equaled 3.4 billion GEL. The indicator is 2.7 percent higher compared to the same period of the previous year. Average expenditure per visit decreased by 1.8 percent compared to the II quarter of 2023 and amounted to 2 251.8 GEL.

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In parallel with the international marketing campaigns, the National Wine Agency implements the state program "Promoting Georgian Wine Production In The Local Market", which provides the financing of Georgian wine festivals, thematic exhibitions, competitions, educational activities planned throughout Georgia.The goal of the program is to make the mechanism of financial support from the state for the promotion of wine production in the local market. Within the framework of the program, during 2024, 22 events will be held with the financial support of the National Wine Agency. In 6 months of the current year, 6 events of various kinds have already been held with the funding of the state.The budget of the state program for the promotion of Georgian wine in 2024 was set at 16 million GEL, which is 2 million GEL more than the 2023 budget.

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The spokesperson for the Thai Ministry of the Interior, Traisulee Traisoranakul, stated that her ministry released four updates to the country’s visa policies, “aligning them with global competition to attract more foreign visitors, generate more revenue, and thus boost the national economy”.Last May, Thailand announced numerous upcoming changes to its visa policies. Among these changes was the doubling of the visa exemption period from 30 to 60 days for visitors from 93 countries.

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The Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture, Otar Shamugia, stated the importance of increasing funding and increased activities at the plenary session of the Parliament, while presenting the annual report.In 2023, 14 million GEL was allocated to the promotion of Georgian wine. Farmers participated in more than 140 exhibitions in 15 countries. including in Japan, USA, France.Shamugia reported on last year's record export of wine to 66 countries. In 2023, $455 million worth of wine and spirits were sold, a 16% year-over-year increase.However, after the pandemic, 2023 is the first year of increase in the value of wine. The average price has increased by 40%.While presenting the annual report, Shamugia also announced the steps to strengthen food safety. This year, 40 new methods of analysis will be introduced, including 19 in the direction of fish diseases. He also mentioned land cadaster and reclamation works.

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Kvrivishvili told the Imedi TV channel that hosting the event for the first time in the country would be “an important opportunity” to represent Georgia’s tourism potential.She noted “a number of” international journalists and high-ranking delegations would visit Georgia on the sidelines of the Tourism Day celebrations, which would positively impact the sustainable development of tourism and promoting the country.Kvrivishvili also highlighted the recent “most significant event” of the Asian Development Bank - the 57th annual meeting - hosted in Tbilisi from May 2 to 5 “with great dignity” amid the rallies against the controversial transparency of foreign influence law, stressing the country had gained “the greatest experience in properly managing crises”.“Our hospitality has been evaluated very positively [by ADB and the annual meeting participants]”, the Deputy Minister noted.“The most important thing is stability and peace, and our [ruling] team will do its utmost to ensure peace, stability and freedom in the country and that all current processes are carried out in the country through democratic processes”, Kvrivishvili emphasised, noting by this foundation it was possible to achieve the double-digit economic growth over the past years.Maintaining stability has played an important role in increasing investments, bringing more tourists into the country and “ultimately affecting” the well-being of “every citizen of Georgia”, she added.

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