Foreign trade in services of Georgia: the role of tourism export

The dynamics, structure and characteristics of Georgia’s foreign trade in services over the past quarter of a century are examined. The features of the Georgia’s tourism services export, its quantitative and qualitative indicators, as well as the importance of the tourism industry and the export of tourism services for the country’s economy are analyzed. It is concluded that, in fact, only the export of tourism services smooths out the deficit of foreign trade balance of Georgia, and gives to the country the currency earnings from its foreign trade. In the export of tourism services, Georgia is almost completely dependent on the countries of the post-Soviet area, in particular, on the Russian Federation. The current medium-term tourism strategy of Georgia is considered, and the additional recommendations are proposed. In particular, for the development of the country’s tourism industry and for the increasing the export of tourism services, it is recommended to create the stylistic image and event specialization of the regions, and to develop the infrastructure for cheap automobile tourism.