TBILISI -- The influx of foreign tourists to the south Caucasus country of Georgia increased by 39 percent to reach 2.82 million in 2011, the country's national tourism agency reported on Monday.

Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia are the top contributors of foreign tourists, followed by Russia, according to the agency.
"The majority of foreign tourists that visited Georgia were from Turkey," the tourism agency said in its annual report. In 2011, 738,136 Turkish tourists came to Georgia, a 38-percent growth in comparison to 2010 when 535,593 people visited Georgia from Turkey.

"The second biggest group of foreign tourists in Georgia belongs to Azerbaijan. In 2010, 497,969 visitors came to Georgia from Azerbaijan and in 2011 - 714,427, a growth of 43 percent."

Armenia contributed 699,391 visitors to Georgia in 2011 as compared with 547,510 in 2010 for an increase of 28 percent, the agency added.

Visitors from Russia, however, registered the biggest increase among the top four by 63 percent. Russian visitors increased from 170,584 in 2010 to 278,501 last year, the agency said.

Other big foreign visitor contributing countries included Iran, Ukraine, Israel, the United States, Germany, Kazakhstan, Greece, Britain, Poland, France, and Bulgaria.

URL: http://www2.chinadaily.com.cn/xinhua/2012-01-31/content_5040046.html