Georgia's Tourism Surpasses 5.5 Million Visits as Political Crisis Continues

Georgia recorded more than 5.5 million international tourist visits in 2025, despite ongoing political protests. The number of visitors rose by 8.4% compared to 2024 and is almost 10 times the number recorded 20 years ago. While the streets of Tbilisi have become the stage for one of the longest protest movements in recent history, the country’s tourism sector has continued to grow. Protests began two days after the contested parliamentary elections on 26 October 2024 that ignited the political crisis.

The protests have been directed against Irakli Kobakhidze’s government, accused of growing authoritarianism and moving the country closer to Moscow again. Georgia was granted EU candidate status in 2023, but the government announced it would not put the opening of EU negotiations on its agenda before the end of 2028. This has fuelled discontent among a population that, mindful of the early 1990s wars against Russian-backed separatists in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and the brief August 2008 war fought against Moscow, also in South Ossetia, continues to consider Russia an occupying power.

Tourists come not only from Europe; many are from the Middle East, and large numbers come from Russia. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, tens of thousands of Russian citizens relocated to Georgia, bringing money and opening businesses, but also exerting strong pressure on the property market by buying homes across the country.

Georgia’s predicament extends beyond its domestic political crisis, reflecting wider geopolitical tensions. Relations with Brussels have deteriorated recently; the EU has criticised the Georgian government’s record on the rule of law and political repression. And many believe a strengthening of Moscow in the Ukraine war could significantly increase its ability to exert pressure on the Caucasus. Both of which make the question inevitable: does the future of a vulnerable Georgia, internationally isolated and with limited domestic support, also hinge on the fate of Ukraine? The answer lies in the continued growth of Georgia’s tourism sector, which has helped to offset the economic effects of the political crisis.