Armenia and Georgia

Armenian Main Tourism Branches Sightseeing tourism Religious tourism Extreme tourism Medical tourism Business trips Winter tours Eco tourism

Contribution of tourism to GDP The direct contribution of tourism to Armenian GDP was USD 0.4 billion, 3.8% of the GDP in 2016. This will rise by 3.6% per annum from 2017-2027.

Armenia Inbound Tourism Tourism in Armenia has been a key sector to the Armenian economy since the 1990s as more than a million people visit the country every year (mostly ethnic Armenians from the Diaspora). The Armenian Ministry of Economy reports that most of the tourists come from the CIS, particularly Russia and Georgia, EU states, Iran and the United States. Though relatively small in size, Armenia has four UNESCO world heritage sites.

Country wise tourist arrivals Number of tourist arrivals in Armenia in 2016 comprised 1,259,657, which is a 5.7% increase compared to 2015. The arrivals were mainly from Russia, Iran, UAE, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Indonesia, Columbia, the Netherlands, Oman, Philippines, Spain, Turkey. Most of the growth was registered from visits from Iran, over 30%. The number of visits from Russia has also increased, over 2.3%, although in 2015 there was a decrease of over 6% from visits from Russia. In 2016 Travel & Tourism directly supported 38,500 jobs (3.3% of total employment).

Outbound In 2016 number of Armenians that traveled abroad reached 1,262,680, showing growth of 6.3 % in comparison with 2015.

Flight connections Armenia is well connected with Gulf countries(Sharjah, Dubai, Doha), Russia and Europe. Fly Dubai has eight flights per week on Dubai-Yerevan sector. There will be two flights daily on this sector from October, 2017.

Indian tourists There were only about 2000 Indian visitors in 2016 The Armenian Embassy in New Delhi has to refer all visa cases to the MFA in Yerevan and many times the visas are rejected. However, Armenia has started offering visa on arrival to persons who have Residence Permit in Gulf countries(except Saudi Arabia). This has led to more Indians travelling to Armenia for vacations etc.

Georgian Main Tourism Branches Sightseeing tourism Religious tourism Winter tours Eco tours Business trips Extreme tourism Medical tourism

Contribution of tourism to GDP Tourism’s share was USD 1.15 billion, 8.1% of the total GDP in 2016. This will rise by 6.6% per annum from 2017-2027.

Inbound country by country In 2016, the largest number of visitors hailed from Azerbaijan (1,523,703, an increase of 9.0%), followed by Armenia (1,496,437, an increase of 1.9%) and Turkey (1,256,561 – a decreased of 10% from last year). 1,038,750 Russian visitors visited Georgia in 2016, which is 12% more than in 2015, while visits from Ukraine increased by 23%, amounting to 174,858 people. The income from international tourism has also increased, amounting to USD 1.7 billion in the first three quarters of 2016. That is USD 177 million more than previous year..

Inbound from India The year-on-year statistics for visitors from India also show positive signs. The total number of travelers from India has significantly increased. 12,114 Indians visited Georgia in 2015. This increased to 36,410 in 2016. (increase of 201%

Recent issues faced by Indian visitors Recently we have received a number of complaints from Indian nationals who travelled to Georgia on e-visa/Residence Permit of Gulf countries/have visas of USA, UK etc. but were denied entry into Georgia by immigration. This has been taken up with the Georgian MFA by the Mission.

Aviation Market Airlines According to the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency (GCAA), Turkish Airlines is the dominant air company operating in Georgia and carries the largest number of passengers. In 2015, it served 434,904 (19.8%) passengers. Georgian Airways is the second most popular airline with 253,386 (11.6%) passengers. This is followed by Ukraine International Airlines with 212,106 (9.7%), Pegasus with 145,652 (6.6%), Wizz Air with 100,464 (4.6%), Siberia Airlines with 93,501 (4.3%), Flydubai with 90,683 (4.1%) and Belavia with 81,173 (3.7%).

Know India Seminars Mission has requested India Tourism Office, Frankfurt to organize two “Know India Seminars” with prominent tour operations/travel agents in Yerevan and Tbilisi.