Visits to Georgia by foreign citizens increased 12.9% year-on-year to 2,636,313 in the first half of 2016, according to data released by the Interior Ministry on Monday.

The Interior Ministry compiles statistics based on border crossing data.

Travelers entering into Georgia and staying in the country for more than 24 hours are classified as “tourists”.

Of the total 2.63 million arrivals registered in January-June 2016, 1,011,680 were identified as “tourists”, an 18.1% increase over the same period of last year.

Number of tourists reached 228,866 in June, representing 15.8% increase compared to the same month of last year.

Citizens from Georgia’s neighboring states make the largest share in total arrivals.

Azerbaijani citizens led the pack in the first half of 2016 with 686,102 entries, up by 18.1% compared to the same period of last year, followed by citizens of Turkey – 629,754 (4% y/y increase); Armenia – 552,806 (1.6% y/y increase); Russia – 397,075 (15.9% y/y increase); Ukraine – 69,912 (26.5% y/y increase).

Number of visits to Georgia by citizens from the EU-member states increased by 7.6% y/y, reaching 103,090 in the first half of 2016.

There was a five-fold increase in number of arrivals by Iranian citizens to 37,336 in the first six months of 2016, compared to only 7,465 in the same period of last year.

Starting from February 15, 2016 Georgia reinstated 45-day visa-free rules for Iranian citizens, which were scrapped by Tbilisi in 2013.

International arrivals to Georgia stood at 5,897,685 in 2015, a 6.9% increase compared to 2014.