EU and UK visitors to Georgia hit record high as spending climbs to $335.7M

Georgia welcomed a record 249,201 visits from European Union countries and the United Kingdom in the first half of 2026, a 23.4 percent increase over the same period last year, according to the National Tourism Administration at Georgia's Ministry of Economy. Spending by those visitors climbed 21.2 percent to $335.7 million — an extra $58.6 million flowing into the country's hospitality economy.

The momentum accelerated through the spring: the second quarter alone brought 152,975 EU and UK visits, up 19.4 percent, generating $194.9 million. Growth was recorded from 26 of the 27 EU member states, led by Slovakia (+51.2 percent), Finland (+50.3 percent) and Croatia (+46.5 percent) — evidence that Georgia's pitch as an affordable, distinctive European destination is landing across the continent, not just in a few core markets.

The European surge is doing heavy lifting for the sector as a whole. Georgia's total tourism revenue actually slipped about 2 percent to $1.9 billion in the first half, weighed down by declines from several regional markets — making the EU and UK boom the offset that kept the industry near record levels.

For a economy where tourism is a leading foreign-currency earner alongside transit and remittances, the composition shift matters: European visitors tend to spread spending across guesthouses, wine regions and adventure tourism beyond Tbilisi and Batumi, deepening the industry's reach into the regions.

Sources: Georgia Today, citing the National Tourism Administration.