Who Visits Batumi — and Who Buys? What the 2025 Data Shows
Batumi received 2.6 million international visitors in 2025. Foreign buyers accounted for 77% of apartment sales in surveyed Batumi developments over the same period.
Those two facts are often presented together, as if one straightforwardly explains the other. The data says otherwise. The countries that send the most visitors to Batumi are not the countries that buy the most property there — and in several cases the gap is dramatic.
Understanding why is more useful than any single statistic in this article. It tells you which demand is durable, which is seasonal, and where the market's centre of gravity is moving.
Every figure below is sourced. Where a number is contested or measured differently by different bodies, that is stated rather than smoothed over.
How many people visit Batumi each year?
Batumi received approximately 2.6 million international visitors in 2025, representing 23% of Georgia's total tourist flow and an increase of 5% on 2024. This is according to the Georgian National Tourism Administration, which ranks Batumi second nationally behind Tbilisi at 3.76 million visitors, or 33% of the national total.
Nationally, Georgia (the country) recorded 5,521,866 international tourist visits in 2025 — a record, and an increase of 8.4% on the 5.1 million recorded in 2024.
A note on this figure, because it is a common source of confusion. The Tourism Administration publishes three separate counts for 2025: 7,803,239 international travellers, 6,856,809 international visits, and 5,521,866 international tourist visits. These measure different things. Tourist visits — journeys involving at least one overnight stay — are the relevant measure for anyone assessing rental demand, and that is the series used throughout this article.
Which countries send the most visitors to Georgia?
Five markets dominate arrivals. In 2025, tourist visits were led by Russia at 1.61 million (up 13.4%), Turkey at 1.26 million (down 6%), Armenia at 962,100 (up 1.5%), Israel at 411,100 (up 32.2%), and Azerbaijan at 294,000 (up 34%).
Beyond the top five, the European Union and the United Kingdom together accounted for 499,890 tourist visits, an increase of 14%. The Persian Gulf states contributed 145,513, up 3.4%.
The ranking has been broadly stable for years. What has changed is the rate at which different markets are growing — and that is where the more interesting signal sits.
How is the visitor mix changing?
Georgia's tourism base is diversifying, and it is diversifying through addition rather than replacement. The established markets have not shrunk. Newer markets have simply grown much faster.
The clearest evidence comes from the Tourism Administration's own structural measure: the share of visits originating in neighbouring countries fell from 61.6% to 59.8% year on year, while the share from non-neighbouring countries rose.
The growth rates behind that shift:
- European Union and United Kingdom: up 14% overall, with record years from the United Kingdom (+39.1%), Spain (+48.6%), Italy (+39.4%), Greece (+28.2%) and France (+17.4%)
- China: up 44.4%
- India: up 14.6%
- Israel: up 32.2%
- Azerbaijan: up 34%
- Saudi Arabia: up 9.1%
One established market did contract: Turkish tourist visits fell 6% in 2025.
For an investor, the direction matters more than the level. A destination whose growth depends on a single source market carries a concentration risk that is difficult to hedge. A destination adding demand across Europe, the Gulf and Asia simultaneously does not.
Why is the visitor mix changing?
Air connectivity. The diversification of Georgia's visitor base is not a matter of shifting tastes — it tracks the addition of direct flight routes with unusual precision.
British Airways and EasyJet both launched direct London–Tbilisi services in April 2025. EasyJet added Geneva–Tbilisi and Milan–Tbilisi. Edelweiss Air introduced Zurich–Tbilisi, and Transavia France added a low-cost Paris route. Georgia and China introduced mutual visa-free travel in 2024, and Georgia and South Korea have been working toward regular direct services.
This is why the European and Asian growth figures above are not a one-year anomaly. Route capacity, once established, compounds. Airlines add frequency to routes that fill, and each added frequency widens the catchment of travellers for whom Georgia is a practical destination rather than a theoretical one.
For property investors, this is the single most reliable forward indicator available in this market. Flight schedules are published in advance. Visitor numbers follow them.
Does Batumi have demand outside the summer?
Yes, and the off-season data is more persuasive than the peak-season data. In the first quarter of 2025 — the weakest period of the year — branded hotel occupancy in Batumi reached 59.9%. Over the same period Tbilisi recorded 39.5% and the rest of Georgia 35.3%. The figures come from STR Global, published by the Tourism Administration.
This matters because a first-quarter occupancy rate is the closest available proxy for how a coastal market performs when the beach is not the attraction. Batumi outperforming the capital city by more than twenty percentage points in January to March indicates demand drivers that operate independently of the summer season.
Who is buying property in Batumi?
Foreign buyers account for the substantial majority of apartment purchases. In September 2025, Galt & Taggart surveyed systematic developers across twenty ongoing residential projects in Batumi. Over the first eight months of 2025, foreign buyers accounted for 77% of apartment sales in those projects.
The breakdown by buyer origin:
| Buyer origin | Share of sales |
|---|---|
| Georgia | 23% |
| Ukraine, Russia, Belarus (combined) | 20% |
| Israel | 16% |
| Europe | 12% |
| Turkey | 9% |
| Arabian countries | 7% |
| Central Asia | 6% |
| Armenia and Azerbaijan | 2% |
| Far East | 1% |
| Other | 4% |
A methodological note. This survey covers the primary market — apartments sold directly by developers, which is the off-plan segment. A separate Galt & Taggart survey of all Batumi apartment transactions, including resales between individuals, puts the foreign share at 52%. The two figures are not in conflict; they measure different markets. Foreign buyers are concentrated in new developments, which is why their share is higher there.
Does the buyer map follow the visitor map?
No — and this is the finding that changes how the rest of the data should be read.
Comparing each market's share of national tourist visits against its share of Batumi apartment purchases produces a consistent and counter-intuitive pattern. Some markets buy far above their visitor weight. Others buy far below it.
Markets that buy above their visit share:
- Israel contributed roughly 7% of tourist visits but 16% of apartment purchases — buying at more than double its visitor weight
- Arabian countries contributed under 3% of visits but 7% of purchases
- Europe contributed roughly 9% of visits and 12% of purchases
Markets that buy below their visit share:
- Turkey contributed roughly 23% of visits but 9% of purchases
- Armenia and Azerbaijan together contributed over 22% of visits but 2% of purchases
The pattern is not random. The markets that under-index on purchases are the land-border neighbours. The markets that over-index arrive by air.
Tourism Administration survey data supports the explanation. Among neighbouring markets, the overwhelming majority of visits are repeat visits: 97.8% for Armenia, 92.3% for Azerbaijan, 88.8% for Russia, 75.8% for Turkey. By contrast, roughly half of visits from non-neighbouring countries are first-time visits, rising to 75.1% for China.
In other words, high visitor volume from a neighbouring country reflects frequent short crossings — trade, family visits, weekend trips — rather than the extended discretionary holidays that lead people to consider buying. Volume and intent are different things.
The practical conclusion: investment capital in Batumi follows flight routes, not land borders. The European and Gulf markets currently posting the fastest arrival growth are precisely the markets that historically convert visits into purchases at the highest rate.
What kind of property is that money buying?
Two clear shifts appear in the transaction data, and they point in the same direction.
Apartments are getting smaller. Units of 26–50 square metres rose from 57.7% of Batumi sales in the first nine months of 2023 to 64.2% in the same period of 2025. Medium units of 51–80 square metres fell from 32.8% to 28.5% over the same period.
Quality tiers are moving upward. Budget stock priced below $1,000 per square metre fell from 57.0% of sales to 44.5%. Midscale stock at $1,001–1,500 per square metre rose from 33.8% to 44.1%. Upscale stock at $1,501–2,500 per square metre rose from 6.4% to 9.2%.
Read together: buyers are choosing smaller units in better buildings. That is the signature of investment purchasing rather than owner-occupation, and it is consistent with a buyer base weighted toward international purchasers who will let the property rather than live in it.
What do prices look like across Batumi's districts?
District-level pricing varies by more than a factor of two. Average primary-market prices for turnkey apartments in September 2025, with year-on-year change:
| District | US$/sq m | Year-on-year |
|---|---|---|
| Old Batumi | $2,906 | +2.1% |
| Alley of Heroes | $2,074 | +8.8% |
| Gonio-Kvariati | $2,042 | +5.7% |
| New Boulevard | $1,753 | +11.7% |
| Makhinjauri | $1,742 | +8.9% |
| Inner Areas | $1,628 | +8.2% |
| Peripheral Zones | $1,380 | +7.8% |
| Kobuleti | $1,685 | −4.6% |
Across Batumi as a whole, the average primary-market turnkey price reached $1,821 per square metre, up 9.0% year on year. The secondary market averaged $1,418, up 5.1%.
Worth noting: the most expensive district recorded the slowest growth, while New Boulevard — mid-priced — grew fastest. Established prestige and price momentum are not the same thing, and the districts where international demand is currently concentrating are not always the ones with the highest headline prices.
What does a broader buyer base mean for an investor?
Three things follow from the data above.
Concentration risk is falling. A market dependent on one or two source countries is exposed to any disruption affecting them — currency, policy, travel restrictions, or regional events. Batumi's visitor base and buyer base are both broadening. That is a structural improvement in the risk profile, independent of any price movement.
Air connectivity is the indicator to watch. The correlation between new direct routes and both visitor growth and purchase behaviour is strong enough to treat as a leading signal. Route announcements are public and forward-dated, which makes this one of the few genuinely predictive data points available in this market.
Buyer profile should inform property selection. A market where two-thirds of transactions are compact units in the midscale-and-above tier, purchased predominantly by international buyers, is a market where the relevant benchmark is international expectations of build quality, management and documentation — not local norms. Property that satisfies a Georgian owner-occupier and property that satisfies an international investor are not the same product.
Sources
- Georgian National Tourism Administration — 2025 arrival statistics, destination rankings, and quarterly statistical overviews
- STR Global, published via the Georgian National Tourism Administration — branded hotel occupancy, Q1 2025
- Galt & Taggart, Batumi Residential Real Estate — Quarterly Market Watch, 3Q25 (14 November 2025) — developer survey, buyer origin, district pricing, transaction characteristics
- National Agency of Public Registry, via Galt & Taggart — apartment transaction volumes
Figures reflect data published as of mid-2026. Tourism and transaction statistics are revised periodically; readers making investment decisions should verify current figures against the primary sources listed above.
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