A lot of tourists stayed in accommodation establishments at the beginning of the year

In 1st quarter 259,000 foreign and 187,000 domestic tourists used the services of accommodation establishments. 45% of foreign tourists came from Finland, one fifth from Russia and 5% from both Latvia and Sweden. 68% of foreign tourists who stayed in accommodation establishments were in Estonia on a holiday trip, a quarter was on a business trip and the rest had some other reason for visiting Estonia. Among Russian tourists, New Year's tours were continuously popular – in January 30,000 tourists from Russia visited the accommodation establishments of Estonia. In the 1st quarter, the services of accommodation establishments were used by a total of 52,000 tourists from Russia, which was 48% more than in the same period of the previous year. 74% of tourists from Russia stayed in the accommodation establishments of Tallinn and 12% in the accommodation establishments of Ida-Viru county.

In the 1st quarter 42% of the clients of accommodation establishments were domestic tourists and their number increased by 14% compared to the same period of the previous year. The most preferred destination was Harju county, where 26% of domestic tourists, who used the services of accommodation establishments, stayed. Pärnu, Tartu and Valga counties each received 12% of domestic tourists. 53% of domestic tourists were on a holiday trip and 30% on a business trip.

In March 90,000 foreign and 67,000 domestic tourists stayed in accommodation establishments. Compared to the same month of the previous year, the number of foreign and domestic tourists increased 14% in total. In March 767 accommodation establishments with 16,700 rooms and 36,400 beds were available for tourists. The room occupancy rate was 35% and the bed occupancy rate 28%, or in other words, each bed was used for an average of 8.5 nights during the month. The average cost of a guest night in an accommodation establishment was 27 euros being 4% more expensive compared to March 2010.