According to the National Bank of Georgia, in October 2017, 134 million GEL was spent in through bank cards issued in Georgia in foreign countries, a record-high and exceeding the same indicator for the same period of 2016 by 30%.
In January-October 2017, a total of 1.09 billion GEL (404 million USD as of today’s rate) was spent abroad, which is 28% higher than the 2016 figure.
The reason for the surge may be linked to Schengen visa liberalization. More than 90,000 citizens of Georgia have visited the Schengen zone with the visa-free regime having gone into force in March 2017, according to EU preliminary data.
Foreign tourists in Georgia VS Georgian tourists abroad
According to the National Bank of Georgia, in the first 9 months of 2017, foreign tourists spent $2.16 billion dollars in Georgia.
During this period there were 2.78 million tourists in Georgia; the average amount spent by a regular tourist in the country is $ 777.4.