Every fourth visitor to Georgia in January-March Russian – Geostat

Georgia has received 873,300 visitors in the first quarter of this year, of which 220,700 were Russians, the National Statistics Office of Georgia said on Monday. 

According to the figures, the number of Russian visitors has doubled compared to the same period of the last year. 

In the reported period Georgia also hosted 216,400 visitors from neighboring Turkey and 182,500 from Armenia. 

Russia last week lifted visa and travel restrictions with Georgia, with domestic opposition and NGOs fearing the move will further increase the number of Russian visitors and also pose threats of sanctions for domestic companies. 

A number of Russian companies have faced international sanctions due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Georgia has joined the sanctions, but refused to impose individual sanctions on Russia, claiming the move would affect its own citizens and economy more than Russia.