According to the international consulting company PMCG, Kazakhstan and China are considered as the markets with the greatest potential in terms of expanding the tourism sector of Georgia. The average expenses of Kazakhstanis for 2019 on Georgian holidays amounted to 1,818 lari (249,956 tenge), and the average length of stay was 7.4 nights, Delovoy Kazakhstan reports.
Although the average vacation expenses for citizens of the Persian Gulf states and the United States are usually much higher, but Kazakhstan and China stand out as the most potential markets. Due to the closed borders of many states, 71.4% of all visitors to the Transcaucasian state were citizens of neighboring countries: Azerbaijan (19.8%), Russia (19.0%), Armenia (17.7%) and Turkey (15.0%).
The director of the GoTour travel agency, Yana Khairutdinova, notes that the demand among Kazakhstanis in this direction has doubled in comparison with the pre-pandemic period. "Since the beginning of the spread of COVID-19, air traffic with most of the previously available destinations has been limited, which remains the situation to this day. In the summer of this year, we have implemented twice as many tours as in the summer of 2019. Since the opening of the Georgian borders, we have noticed a trend of tangible growth of interest among Kazakhstani citizens."
She also added that this spring it became known about the resumption and launch of direct flights from several cities of Kazakhstan to popular Georgian resorts, among which there are even budget flights, which makes traveling to Georgia much more convenient and affordable.
A significant increase in the number of tourists from Kazakhstan at Georgian resorts is confirmed by PMCG indicators. According to statistics, the number of Kazakhstani tourists in Georgia is growing every year. In 2019, the Transcaucasian state was visited by 103,611 Kazakhstanis, which is 75.7% more than in 2018.
In April 2021, after the announcement of the opening of the borders, 1,639 Kazakhstanis went on vacation to Georgia. Thus, the increase in Kazakhstani tourists amounted to 284.7% compared to April 2020. The pandemic has dealt a severe blow to Georgian tourism, but it also provides a number of opportunities to change the "domestic policy" for further diversification of the tourism industry.
