In January, slightly fewer tourists stayed in accommodation establishments than a year earlier
According to Statistics Estonia, accommodation establishments in January served nearly 194,000 tourists, which is 1% fewer than in January last year. The number of domestic tourists decreased, while the number of foreign tourists increased.
Helga Laurmaa, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that more than 83,000 foreign and nearly 111,000 domestic tourists were accommodated in Estonia in January. “Compared with January 2023, there were 1% more foreign tourists, which is still 35% fewer than in January 2020, just before the crisis. The number of foreign tourists in accommodation establishments was similar to the number of tourist arrivals in January 2011. The number of domestic tourists was 3% below last January's all-time record," Laurmaa added.
The highest numbers of foreign visitors in January arrived from Finland (over 24,000) and Latvia (nearly 16,000 people). Compared with January of the previous year, the number of Finnish tourists was 17% lower than in January last year, while the number of Latvian tourists was 14% higher. More tourists arrived also from United Kingdom, Lithuania, Poland, and Asian countries. 77% of the foreign tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in Harju county, followed by Pärnu (11%), Tartu (6%), and Ida-Viru (2%) counties. In total, foreign visitors spent more than 169,000 nights in Estonia.
71% of domestic tourists were on holiday and 20% were travelling on business. The largest share of domestic tourists (33%) was accommodated in Harju county, 12% in both Pärnu and Tartu counties and 11% in Ida-Viru county. 8% of the domestic tourists stayed in Valga county and 6% in Lääne-Viru county. Domestic tourists spent nearly 185,000 nights in total in Estonia.
In January, 901 accommodation establishments served visitors in Estonia. There were 21,000 rooms and 47,000 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 34%. The average cost of a guest night was 43 euros per person, which is 1 euro cheaper than in January 2023 and 8 euros more than in January 2020, before the crisis. The average cost of an overnight stay per person was 48 euros in Lääne-Viru and Tartu counties, 46 euros in Harju county, 43 euros in Ida-Viru county, and 37 euros in Pärnu county.
Statistics Estonia collects and analyses accommodation data for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications with the aim to determine the economic situation in Estonia.
See also the dedicated section on tourism, accommodation and food service and the tourism industry dashboard.
More detailed data have been published in the statistical database.
When using Statistics Estonia’s data and graphs, please indicate the source.
For further information:
Kai Kaljumäe
Communications Partner
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9184
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)