In August, domestic tourism increased but the number of tourists from Finland fell by a half
According to Statistics Estonia, in August 2021, Estonian accommodation establishments served 342,000 tourists, which is 3% more than in the same month last year. The number of domestic tourists increased compared to both August 2020 and August 2019, while the number of foreign tourists was still lower than in previous years.
Helga Laurmaa, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that tourism in Estonia was boosted by domestic tourists. “The coronavirus-related restrictions had been eased and people made more trips within Estonia. Compared to August 2020, there were 12% more domestic tourists and the number of nights spent by them increased by 11%. Compared to August 2019, when the crisis had not yet begun, the number of domestic tourists grew by as much as 21%,“ added Laurmaa.
Accommodation establishments served nearly 245,000 domestic tourists who spent a total of 418,000 nights. For 70% of domestic tourists, the purpose of their trip was holiday, and 17% were on business trips. The biggest share of domestic tourists (20%) stayed overnight in Harju county; 18% of domestic tourists were accommodated in Pärnu county, 10% in both Tartu and Ida-Viru county, and 9% in Saare county.
The number of foreign tourists visiting Estonia was significantly smaller than in August 2019 before the coronavirus crisis, and in August last year. There were 97,000 accommodated foreign tourists, which is 66% less than in August 2019 and 13% less than in August 2020. Foreign tourists spent a total of 209,000 nights in Estonia, which is 3% less than last year. “The number of tourists from Finland, which has a significant impact on the Estonian hotel market, was 21,000. This represents just 51% of last year’s level and 26% of the pre-crisis level. There were 49% less tourists from Latvia and 50% less tourists from Lithuania. There were several more distant countries from which a much larger number of tourists came to Estonia compared to August last year, but these numbers were still considerably lower than in the pre-crisis years,” noted Laurmaa.
In August, there were 1,202 accommodation establishments open for tourists in Estonia, which is 4% less than last year and 14% less than in 2019. There were 23,000 rooms and 55,000 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 45%. The average cost of a guest night was 35 euros per person, which is four euros more than in the same month last year but four euros cheaper than in August 2019. The average cost of an overnight stay per person was 36 euros in Pärnu county, 38 euros in Tartu county and 39 euros in Harju and Saare counties.
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.
For further information:
Kadri Kütt
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181