TBILISI, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Georgia welcomed 994,800 international visitors in the first quarter of 2026, up 2.5 percent year on year, though total tourist spending declined, according to the National Statistics Office Thursday.

Russia was the largest source market, accounting for 20.3 percent of visitors, followed by Türkiye at 18.5 percent, and Armenia at 11.8 percent. The capital Tbilisi drew 42.1 percent of all visits, followed by the Black Sea resort region of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara at 18.4 percent.

Despite the visitor increase, total expenditure fell 5.2 percent to 2.2 billion Georgian lari (about 819.5 million U.S. dollars), with average spending per visit down 5.1 percent to 1,897.1 lari. ■