For most of the past fifteen years, Georgia’s tourism economy ran on a familiar pattern: a sharp July-August peak, a strong September shoulder, a slower October, then a quiet six months until the summer cycle restarted. The pattern made the country economically dependent on a narrow window and structurally exposed to weather, regional shocks, and the kind of slow news that does not earn a year’s flight bookings on a single press cycle.
That pattern is loosening. In 2025 the autumn quarter, October to December, set a record of 1.2 million tourist trips, up 10.5 percent, while the year as a whole grew 8.4 percent. The months outside the summer peak are where much of the growth now sits. It is the version of Georgia worth recommending to guests who want to see the country without the summer crowd.
What the seasonal distribution looks like now
The Georgian National Tourism Administration publishes quarterly overviews, and Georgian Tourism in Figures 2025 tells three stories.
The summer peak still dominates. July and August still bring the largest arrivals, and the shift is gradual: the autumn quarter’s share of the year’s tourist trips edged up from 21.6 percent in 2024 to 22.0 percent in 2025. The peak is still the peak; it is no longer the only thing.
The autumn quarter sets records. October to December brought 1,214,772 tourist trips in 2025, a record for the quarter, and $1.05 billion in travel revenue, up 9 percent. Autumn is no longer the slow end of the year.
Winter depends on more than snow. The first half of 2026 was flat, with tourist trips up 0.1 percent, after the conflict around Iran cancelled flights from several markets (GNTA’s half-year overview). A season that relies on long-haul flights is exposed to them.
The May and September strategy
These two months are the shoulder versions of summer. The weather is warm but not hot, the days are still long, the wildflowers are at their best (May above Gudauri, see Military Highway shoulder season) or the autumn colour is turning (October in Kakheti), and the visitor density is sane.
What’s driving the fill:
Softer light, fewer people in the frame. The light is softer in the shoulder months, and the visitor density allows compositions without people in them. The wildflowers above Gudauri peak in late spring, which is reason enough to plan the Kazbegi day for May.
Wine harvest tourism. The harvest runs from early September to mid-October. The cellar visits that work year-round are differently interesting in those weeks because the cellars are working. The Rtveli harvest (see Rtveli in Kakheti) is the wine trip we would recommend first, and it only exists in this window.
Do not count on a shoulder discount. The old argument for May and September was price. For the best-known premium hotels it may no longer hold, so compare the rates for the actual dates before assuming the shoulder is cheaper.
The winter Tbilisi strategy
Winter is the harder cycle to fill but the most-watched.
The story has three layers.
The traditional ski crowd. Gudauri, Bakuriani, and Mestia have always run winter ski operations. The Bakuriani 2023 FIS Freestyle World Championships put the resort on a wider international map, and the investment that followed (see Where hospitality FDI is going) supports an expanded base. Ski tourism is the traditional winter draw.
Christmas and New Year. Georgian Christmas (Orthodox calendar, January 7) and the wider end-of-year holiday window have become a meaningful destination period. Tbilisi draws New Year visitors looking for a less-saturated alternative to the major European Christmas-market cities. Premium rooms for late December and early January are worth booking months ahead.
Winter Tbilisi as its own product. Independent of skiing or Christmas, the city in winter has been actively positioned by GNTA and by hotel operators as a year-round destination. The argument is straightforward. Tbilisi is mild compared to most European capitals at the same latitude (the Caucasus shields the city from northern weather). The sulfur baths in winter are genuinely lovely (see The sulfur baths). The wine and food scene operates year-round. The cultural calendar is full.
The result is a winter city worth a first visit, not only a return one.
The trip shape that earns each off-season
For concierges working through the off-season ask, four trip shapes work.
May. Kakheti plus the Caucasus shoulder route. Three days of wine country plus a two-day Caucasus loop (Kazbegi via the Military Highway, see Military Highway shoulder season). The wildflower window is the photography premium.
September. Kakheti during rtveli plus old-town Tbilisi. The harvest is the unique experience that exists only from early September to mid-October. Four to six days total.
Late September / October. The Tbilisi-Kakheti-Batumi triangle that the Rikoti tunnel made workable. Autumn colour in Kakheti, the still-warm coast, less crowded everywhere.
Winter. Tbilisi as the base with day trips. Sulfur baths, old town, food and wine, cultural calendar. Optional Gudauri or Bakuriani extension for skiing. Four to seven days.
Each of these shapes has a specific calendar fit and a specific guest profile. The off-season strategy we recommend differs from the summer strategy in pacing as much as in content.
What this means for the booking calendar
Three takeaways for concierges and corporate travel teams.
Do not budget for an off-season discount. Price the actual dates. For premium properties the old May or winter saving may not be there.
Off-season is not empty. Branded hotels in Tbilisi ran at 53.3 percent occupancy in the first half of 2026, by STR figures in GNTA’s half-year overview, against 59.8 percent for 2025 as a whole. On average there is room, but plan the dates that matter, such as New Year, early.
Off-season has its own experiential premium. The trip shape during off-season is not a compromise version of the summer trip. It is a different and in many ways better experience for the right guest. Wine harvest, wildflowers, autumn colour, winter Tbilisi all give guests something the summer trip does not.
A closing note
Georgia is growing into the destination it should always have been. If you’re coming at any time of year and would like a car, email booking@soitblack.com to talk about a trip.
Related: The Georgian Military Highway in shoulder season, Rtveli in Kakheti, The sulfur baths, and Georgia’s tourism reset.