







































Georgian Geographical journal 

2021, Vol.1 (1) 27-33 

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON TOURISM IN 

GEORGIA-AN OVERVIEW 

Nana Kvirkvelia1*, Mariam Tsitsagi1 

 

Abstract 

Coronavirus has posed a great challenge to the whole world, including Georgia. The 

restrictions have taken a heavy toll on the tourism industry worldwide. It has been clear since 

the spring of the current year that the mass recovery of international tourism will not be 

possible by 2020. Consequently, the necessity has led to changes, especially in the direction 

of domestic tourism. Countries apply different strategies. This review article is based on the 

results of a mini-survey and data from the National Statistics Office. It is analyzed what impact 

COVID-19 had on local tourism in Georgia, what is the public mood, which places were 

visited, where did the epidemic break out after the restrictions were lifted, what are the 

statistics of international tourists in Georgia, etc. Besides, tourism support measures 

developed around the world are discussed. 
 

Keywords: COVID-19, tourism, Georgia 

 

Introduction 

It is generally accepted that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the whole 

world. It has had a significant impact on the international tourism industry. This 

branch of economics has lost its relevance for some time. Flights around the world 

have been suspended, tourist traffic and the hotel industry have ceased to function. 

Mass tourism and over-tourism are no longer a problem. Even more, it is tourism that 

has become one of the main drivers of the epidemic. Studies show that in the early 

stages of the epidemic, there was a correlation between international tourism and the 

level of infection (Farzanegan et al., 2020). 

It has been repeatedly suggested that coronavirus infection will persist for several 

years and we will have to live with it. Consequently, the tourism sector also faced 

many challenges. Consequently, tourism needs to be transformed and changed 

(Gössling et al., 2020). The epidemic crisis is forcing us to find the rare and best way 

to develop tourism for a better future. Changes need to be made that focus on the 

interests of local communities and the protection of their rights. According to some 

scientists, in theory, such approaches to the welfare of society will "socialize" tourism 

(Higgins-Desbiolles, 2020). This in turn forces tourism to be accountable to the 

world's social and environmental constraints. Demand is likely to increase for safe 

places where social distance protection will be possible. The whole world, as well as 

Georgia, is facing this challenge. Such types of tourism as eco, agro and rural tourism 

should be activated. The local population will be able to turn the income from tourism 

services into additional income, and the production of agricultural products will 

 
1 TSU, Vakhushti Bagrartioni Institute of Geography, Tamarashvili 6, 0177. Tbilisi, 

Georgia, nana.kvirkvelia@tsu.ge 



Georgian Geographical journal 

become their main source of income. It is a good fact that National Geographic, one 

of the most influential travel publications in the world, named Georgia, Svaneti 

region, among the 25 best destinations in the world in 2021, which tourists should 

visit in the post-pandemic period (National Geographic, 2020).  

Some scholars are talking about the transition to the tourism industry using the 

"Buen Vivir" method. This is a South American concept that implies the local and 

slow development of tourism, which, in itself, will contribute to the protection of 

nature and benefit both the host local communities as well as the tourists. This 

concept serves the well-being of all (Everingham & Chassagne, 2020). 
According to the National Tourism Agency, in February 2020, the number of 

tourist visits to Georgia increased by + 4%, while international traveler visits 

decreased by 0.7%. The development of domestic tourism, of course, is not associated 

with large revenues, but it will allow the country to develop sustainable tourism and 

more or less maintain the stability of the population involved in the tourism segment, 

and in fact, its existence depends on tourism. Several projects are already underway 

in Georgia (hotels in Georgian mountain resorts during the "Discount Week"), which 

will help to popularize the region and encourage domestic tourism. These projects 

will also help attract visitors to tourist facilities. According to Galt & Taggart in its 

research, domestic tourism will be encouraged by the fact that in 2020, the travel of 

Georgians abroad is limited. It should be noted that the measures of the support 

package of the Government of Georgia are similar to those of other countries, 

although there is one exception - Georgia has not stimulated domestic tourism. We 

think it is the duty of each of us to promote the development of local tourism. After 

some restrictions were lifted (meaning the summer period of 2020), to show 

solidarity, many Georgian citizens promoted various tourist facilities, 

accommodation, or food facilities through social networks. 

Tbilisi hotels would be in the worst condition, which was to be expected, as it was 

unthinkable to bring a Georgian tourist or vacationer to the capital in the context of 

domestic tourism. Therefore, most of the hotels in Tbilisi are closed today, some of 

their employees were employed in hotels in the region, and representatives of the 

hotel business took an active part in this, some even had to temporarily change the 

field. The purpose of this review paper is to describe and examine the effect of the 

COVID-19 pandemic on tourism in Georgia. 
 

International tourism faces to COVID-19 

Countries around the world have developed anti-crisis plans to deal with COVID-

19 (Rogerson & Rogerson, 2020), (Rutynskyi & Kushniruk, 2020), (Sah et al., 2020), 

(Mariolis et al., 2020), (Foo et al., 2020), (Gil-Alana & Poza, 2020). There are three 

main types of approaches: 1. Protecting people (e.g. Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway, 

Poland), which includes informing visitors, assisting in repatriation, etc. Financial 

support for people employed in the tourism sector. 2. Business maintenance (e.g. EU, 

Brazil, and Australia) includes financial support for tourism companies, especially 

small and medium-sized companies, assistance in finding new markets, updating 

work processes, etc. 3. Coordination mechanisms (e.g. Canada, France, Ireland, 



Kvirkvelia and Tsistagi 

United Kingdom) - special groups to assess the impact of Covid-19 and response 

mechanisms (e.g. communication with the private sector, development of short-term, 

medium and long-term strategies, etc.). 

Tourism support events have also been developed in various countries around the 

world. These include deferral (cancellation of taxes, access to loans), credit 

guarantees, financing of interest on loans, deferral of loans, wage subsidies, cash 

benefits for the unemployed, gift vouchers (programs to encourage inbound tourism 

retention, and invaluable tours). Support measures are similar in Georgia and other 

countries, except for domestic tourism incentives and vouchers. 

A study published by Galt & Taggart - a survey of hotels - identified the most 

critical problem with bank lending services. 73% of the hotel business would like to 

defer credit contributions by the end of 2020, 66% would want to subsidize interest 

rates on loans, 65% would want tax breaks, and 31% would want to defer utility bills. 

These requirements were even met. There are other requirements that could not be 

met. Examples are access to loans (credit guarantees from the state), deferral of utility 

bills, employment programs (temporary employment of staff), and others (Galt & 

Taggart, 2020). 

 

Georgia’s Perspective 

Chronologically, we present the sequence of restrictions that Georgia adopted 

before the pandemic. After the virus has appeared, it became even more severe. The 

epidemiological chronology in Georgia looks like this: January 29 - Air traffic with 

China was suspended, February 24 - All types of traffic with Iran were suspended, 

February 26 - The first confirmed case of Covid-19 was recorded, March 4 - All types 

of traffic with Italy were suspended, March 18 - Borders were closed, March 21 - 

State of emergency declared, March 31 - Universal quarantine declared, April 14 - 

State of emergency extended, April 27 - First part of restrictions lifted, May 7 - 

Tourism support package announced, May 21 - State of emergency ended, June 8 - 

hotels and restaurants opened, July 1 - Borders with some countries open.  

As a result of restrictions and timely response, the situation in Georgia was stable. 

Removing restrictions after being locked up for so long, it is interesting to see how 

events unfolded. It was during this period, in August 2020, that we conducted a small 

survey remotely. August in Georgia is a period of massive vacations, travel, with the 

addition of removed restrictions, both in the world and in Georgia. The research is 

not large-scale but based on it and by analyzing the ongoing processes in the country, 

we were able to make some conclusions. For example, what is the travel mood of the 

Georgian population during the fight against the pandemic, which places are popular, 

what followed these trips, etc. 

The study included citizens of Georgia aged 16 and more, among whom the 

majority of females - 77.4%. As we can see from fig.1 the majority of the respondents 

(76.9%) are people aged 30 to 50 years. 70 years and older - 10.3%. 16 to 30 years - 

12.3%.  

As we have already mentioned, during the pandemic there were certain 

restrictions, curfew and intercity restrictions, which were obeyed by the citizens of 



Georgian Geographical journal 

Georgia. Presumably, this meant that the processes caused by COVD-19 in the first 

half of 2020 were manageable and did not result in many casualties, which we cannot 

say about the post-summer period. As we know, the spread of the epidemic is related 

to socialization, after the lifting of restrictions, the population began to travel, and it 

was during this period that a large influx of tourists headed to Svaneti. We note here 

that 71% of our respondents wanted to travel to Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. The virus 

spread, which, unfortunately, led to the closure of Svaneti. The next wave of the virus 

spread to the Black Sea coast. 57% of our respondents planned to spend their vacation 

here. It is also an important fact that 43% of respondents have already visited 

Mtskheta-Mtianeti region. An epidemic broke out in this area as well. 22.6% traveled 

to Achara and 29.2% planned to travel to Achara. The fact is, the virus has spread 

rapidly to areas where people have been active. The main purpose of the trip was rest 

and recreation (68.2%). Despite the created situation, 39% of them are satisfied.  

 
Fig. 1. Respondents’ age  

As we have already mentioned, domestic tourism is one of the ways to alleviate 

the crisis, but its share in Georgia is low - 26% (Galt & Taggart, 2020). 

Compared to other countries, the scale of domestic tourism in Georgia is quite 

limited, as most locals do not visit hotels and rent private houses. Analyze the 

statistical data of the second quarter of 2020 by the National Department of Statistics 

of Georgia. The percentage of domestic visitors according to the cities visited is as 

follows: Tbilisi - 20%, Batumi - 7, 7%, Kutaisi - 7%, Mtskheta - 2, 6%, Rustavi - 2, 

3%, Gori - 1.7%. The majority of their trip (53.5%) was to visit relatives and friends 

(NSOG, 2020). Domestic tourists prefer to stay in a hotel when traveling, especially 

in Tbilisi. Only 0.6% of visitors spend the night in a hotel. 46.9% - with friends or 

relatives, and 49.9% - at home (Georgia, 2020). It is interesting what the statistics of 

visitor movement by regions of Georgia look like. From fig. 2, it can be seen that 

Tbilisi (20%), Imereti (19.0%), and Achara (11.5%) take the top three places (NSOG, 

2020).  

The practice of "tourist bubbles" is settling in the world. Countries with similar 

epidemiological conditions open their borders to each other. There is a gradual return 



Kvirkvelia and Tsistagi 

of tourists. In the first stage, significant emphasis is placed on neighboring countries, 

from where most visitors visit the country in their own cars. According to the data of 

the National Statistics Office of Georgia for the first quarter of 2020, the number of 

international visitors reached 883.8 thousand, which is a decrease of 15.2% compared 

to the same period last year. International visitors paid 765.3 thousand tourist types 

of visits, which is 13.2% less than the same period last year. The largest number of 

visitors - 197.2 thousand visitors - was recorded from Azerbaijan, which is 22.3% of 

the total visitors and represents a decrease of 7.3% compared to the corresponding 

figure for 2019. The largest number of visits (262.2 thousand) was made by citizens 

of Azerbaijan, which is 10.5% less than the same period last year. The majority of 

visitors - 48.7%, belonged to the age group of 31-50 years. The number of women 

makes up 33.2% of the total visitors. In the first quarter of 2020, the most visits - 

31.9% - were made for leisure, entertainment, and recreation, mostly in Tbilisi and 

Kvemo Kartli, respectively, 559.3 thousand and 241.3 thousand. The average number 

of nights spent during visits in the first quarter of 2020 was 3.4 nights, which is 8.8% 

less than the figure recorded in the first quarter of 2019 (3.7 nights). 83.7% of the 

visits were repeated visits. Expenditures on visits in the first quarter of 2020 

amounted to 1.0 billion GEL, which is 12.9% less than the same period last year. The 

average cost of a visit increased by 3.7% compared to the first quarter of 2019 and 

amounted to 922.4 GEL (NSOG, 2020). 

 
Figure 2. Visitors’ movement by regions of Georgia 

Azerbaijani and Armenian tourists mainly visit Georgia, and in the summer 

period, Georgia may become more attractive to them. In addition to the neighbors, it 

is necessary to explore new markets - Chinese tourists are increasingly interested in 

Georgia. The vast majority of Chinese tourists are low- or middle-income individuals, 

for whom mostly cheap tourist markets are available. China is the largest tourist 

market in the world. Most of them visit Asia and the Pacific, but there is a growing 

interest in developing tourism. According to Mafengwo.com, the most frequently 



Georgian Geographical journal 

used online travel information portal in China, in 2018, special attention was paid to 

Chinese tourists from Georgia, Turkey, Serbia, Cyprus, the Bahamas, and Croatia. 

An updated strategy by hotels should be prepared due to the decrease in visitors. 

In the summer of 2020, some discounts were observed in family-type hotels. Due to 

the closure of the country's borders, many Georgians who were going abroad for 

vacation were forced to travel inside the country. As some hotel consultants point out, 

this factor has had a positive impact on the development of domestic tourism. The 

increased flow of Georgian tourists has increased competition between hotels for 

quality and cleanliness of services, which is often a pain/shortcoming of non-branded 

small facilities. This has shown the owners or managers of small and medium-sized 

hotels, restaurants, and managers that if before they had to count on foreign tours that 

came once and did not have to count on their repeat visit, now the situation has 

changed. As you know, the impression of the vacationer and satisfaction is of great 

importance. Georgians are always followed by their friends or acquaintances, so 

quality care has become even more necessary in a pandemic. Otherwise, the visitor 

will go elsewhere, since the hotel is a lot, the vacationer is a little, therefore, it is 

important to take care of the quality of food and service. Little progress has been 

made in this regard, which will hopefully be maintained in the future as the state 

spends quite a large budget and resources to popularize the country internationally. 

The incoming tourist must meet the appropriate quality so that there are no negative 

consequences in the future. The level of international visitor satisfaction is set by 

hotels, restaurants, and tours organized by travel companies, on which the state has 

no leverage yet. 
 

Conclusion 

The whole world, including Georgia, has suffered from the coronavirus. The 

restrictions have caused great damage to the tourism sector. It has become clear that 

mass tourism international recovery will not be possible by 2020. Consequently, the 

need has led to changes, especially in the direction of domestic tourism. When the 

borders are opened, security control will become relevant, in which it will be 

important to share the experience of other tourist countries. For example arrangement 

of quarantine areas in tourist destinations, test laboratories, allocation of doctors, 

control of social distance by drones on the beaches, Covid-19 testing at the airport, 

periodic temperature control in hotels and restaurants, the possibility of operating 

hotels with 25% occupancy; Restrictions for hotels, for example, accommodation of 

a maximum of 2 adults and 1 child in a room, and much more. The statistics 

mentioned in the article, the results of the mini-research, some recommendations will 

help the development of tourism in the conditions of coronavirus. 
 

 

 

 



Kvirkvelia and Tsistagi 

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