IN 2022, DOMESTIC TOURISM WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE RECOVERY - TBC CAPITAL

In 2022, Domestic tourism will continue to play a significant role in the recovery. Tourism recovery will depend on how the world handles the pandemic. New strains, uneven vaccination and complex travel restrictions will negatively impact overall restart, - according to the report published by TBC Capital.

Georgia saw an important increase of domestic tourism in 2021. The country is expected to follow the world trend and rely on domestic tourism in the short-term period.

"The insights gained from the analysis of domestic tourism indicate that short distance to domestic destinations from major cities (Tbilisi) and relatively well developed leisure infrastructure as well as touristic offerings are strong drivers of demand. Kakheti will continue to benefit from domestic demand, whereas more remote destinations with less concentration of hotels and other touristic infrastructure, will have to get creative to attract visitors",- the report reads.

In 2021, in Georgia, domestic tourists were responsible for almost 70% of the occupancy reached by the hotels outside Tbilisi. In the Q2, 2021, average number of monthly domestic visits has increased by 27.3% compared to the same period of 2019.

Average number of nights by domestic tourists more than doubled in the Q2 2020 compared to Q2 2019, whereas in Q2 2021, it decreased by 32% compared to Q2 2020 and stood at 1.78 nights.