BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.27
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
After a significant slowdown in money inflows at the beginning of the year, remittance inflows were on the path of recovery in Georgia, Trend reports via the ISET-PI, a think-tank based at the International School of Economics of Tbilisi State University.
In October, remittances increased by 12.5 percent yearly. The main contributors to this increase were Ukraine (by 124.4 percent year-on-year, contributing 3.5 ppts), Italy (by 27.7 percent year-on-year, 3.6 ppts), US (by 35.6 percent year-on-year, 3.4 ppts), Greece (15.4 percent year-on-year, 1.6 ppts), Germany (by 65 percent year-on-year, 2 ppts), Azerbaijan (by 208.1 percent year-on-year, 2.5 ppts), and Turkey (by 14.7 percent year-on-year, 0.76 ppt).
Whereas money inflows decreased from the Kyrgyz Republic (by 66.4 percent year-on-year, -2 ppts), Russia (by 16 percent year-on-year, -4 ppts), Kazakhstan (by 26 percent year-on-year, -0.5 ppt), and Poland (by 15 percent year-on-year, -0.3 ppt). The recovery of remittances flows made a positive contribution to the growth forecast.
Tourism arrivals and receipts declined sharply as a result of numerous travel bans, as well as precautionary behaviors on the part of potential tourists. In November, the number of international visitors decreased by 91.6 percent yearly (driven by Russia [-14.4 ppts], Azerbaijan [-20.4 ppts] and Turkey [-11.8 ppts]), while the decline in tourist numbers (visitors who spent 24 hours or more in Georgia) amounted to 88 percent.
Overall, dramatically declining numbers of visitors and tourists, along with a sharp decrease in touristic spending has made a significant negative contribution to the growth forecast.
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