Tourism in Georgia (country)

"Tourism in Georgia" redirects here. For tourism in the U.S. state of Georgia, see Georgia (U.S. state) § Tourism.
Georgian National Tourism Administration logo

Tourism in Georgia, a country in the Caucasus with an ancient history, is actively encouraged by the Cabinet of Georgia through its Department of Tourism and Resorts of Georgia.[1] In 2011 1 318 968 tourists visited Georgia. By the end of 2015 the annual number of tourists in Georgia reached 2 278 562 people.[2] The culture of Georgia is ancient and the local people are a mixture of ancient and modern.[3]

Some countries attract one instantly. Georgia seduces you the moment you set foot on its soil
— Kalpana Sahni, quotation from the Official Georgian government tourism website[1]

Arrivals by country

Most visitors arriving to Georgia on short term basis in 2014 were from the following countries of nationality:[4]

Rank Country Number
1 Turkey 1,442,695
2 Armenia 1,325,635
3 Azerbaijan 1,283,214
4 Russia 811,621
5 Ukraine 143,521
6 Iran 47,929
7 Poland 46,314
8 Israel 42,385
9 Germany 33,446
10 Kazakhstan 28,394

Culture

Freedom square in Tbilisi and the city hall

According to the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Georgia, the word wine comes from the word g'vino of the Georgian language, and the oldest archaeological remains related to grape seeds and winemaking have been found in Georgia, while today the country has over 500 varieties of grape.[5]

Ecotourism

25% of Georgia's territory is designated as protected national parks, and 40% of the national territory is covered by forests.[5]

Safety

A travel advisory had been announced during and after the 2008 South Ossetia war, with a severity described as "extreme danger", as there are risks from land mines and other inconveniences that are a result of war.[3][6] Countries that have issued travel warnings include New Zealand,[7] but not limited to it.

According to international Crime index Georgia is 6th most safe countries in the world (2016).[8]

Practical information

Georgia uses the standard Europlug (220 V, 50 Hz), the international dialing prefix is +995, it uses the metric system, and its currency is the lari (GEL or L).[3]

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 tourism.gov.ge
  2. ↑ http://police.ge/files/pdf/vizitorebi/2016/საზღვრის კვეთის სტატისტიკა (2016 წლის იანვარი).pdf საქართველოს საზღვარზე გადაადგილებულ ვიზიტორთა სტატისტიკური მონაცემები 2016 წელი, იანვარი]
  3. 1 2 3 lonelyplanet.com
  4. ↑ 2014 GEORGIAN TOURISM IN FIGURES STRUCTURE & INDUSTRY DATA
  5. 1 2 tourism.gov.ge/discover.php
  6. ↑ lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forum.jspa
  7. ↑ safetravel.govt.nz
  8. ↑ http://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_by_country.jsp

See also

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Georgia.
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