A total of 819,900 Georgian resident travellers took trips outside the country in the third quarter of 2023, with most of the visits made to Turkey (279,500) and Armenia (107,600), the latest data from the National Statistics Office shows.

The next most in-demand destinations were Russia (13.4 percent), Azerbaijan (1.4 percent), EU member countries (14 percent) and other states (12.8 percent).

The Office said the number of Georgian residents travelling abroad had increased by 18.2 percent year-on-year, while most of the trips (45.4 percent) were made by travellers of the 31-50 age group.

The travellers spent ₾592.4 million ($219mln) while on trips abroad during the quarter - a 7.1 percent increase y/y. The average expenditure of the visit decreased by 12 and amounted to ₾915.3 ($338.40).

Georgian residents spent the highest amount of money on shopping ($87.51mln), followed by foods and drinks ($50.98mln) and accommodation ($44.29mln) during the travels, with shopping the most commonly indicated reason for the trips outside Georgia.

Other most cited reasons for visiting other countries included:

Photo via National Statistics Office

In Q3, the average number of nights spent during outbound visits was 7.2, or 13.4 percent higher than the figure indicated in Q3 of 2022 (6.3 nights).

The Office also said 96.3 percent of outbound travels had been repeat visits.