Sales of beach tours to Georgia grow in regions of Russia

In the 2019 season, the flow of tourists from the Russian regions to the beach resorts of Georgia increased. It is not surprising - Georgian hoteliers provide special offers. Prices for a week at a 3* hotel on BB start from 42 thousand Rubles (582 Euros) for two persons. The demand also increased by the launch of new direct flights to Batumi from regions. 

According to tour operators, Georgia shows a steady growth in sales in recent years: from 15 to 30% mainly due to the excursion product. As for a beach holiday, the demand for such tours has traditionally not been high. One of the reasons was transportation. In previous years, in Batumi, the main resort of Georgia on the Black Sea, flights were carried out only from Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the 2019 season, Pobeda airline has already launched flights to Batumi from Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan and Yekaterinburg. 

According to market participants, the availability of regional flights to Georgia has stimulated significant sales growth on the destination in the summer season. Thus, the press service of Intourist tour operator reported about twofold increase in bookings of the Black Sea coast of Georgia. The tour operator especially notes the growth of requests from Ekaterinburg and Kazan. According to representatives of the tour operator, the Russians go to Georgia in the summer not only because of the "all-season gastronomy and wines", but also because of the developed resort infrastructure. 

Specialists of Russian Express tour operator also note a two-fold increase in sales of Georgia. “Pobeda Airlines has launched flights to Batumi from the regions, which had a better effect on demand,” explains Anna Filatovskaya, the director of the advertising and PR department of the company. 

According to tour operators, despite the growing interest in beach holidays in Georgia, the share of sales of this product does not exceed 25-35% of total sales of the destination. The top tourist demand in Georgia still includes sightseeing tours and combined tours.