Peak tourism season brought tourists to accommodation establishments
According to Statistics Estonia, more than 481,000 tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in July 2023, up by 1% from the same month a year earlier and 43% more than in June 2023. Compared with July last year, accommodation establishments hosted more foreign tourists and fewer domestic tourists.
Helga Laurmaa, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that 242,000 foreign tourists were accommodated in Estonia in July. “Foreign arrivals did not yet reach the pre-crisis level of July 2019, remaining more than a quarter lower, but compared with July 2022, the number of foreign tourists increased by 6%,” Laurmaa added. The number of domestic tourists was down 4% compared with the corresponding month of last year. However, there were4% more domestic tourists than in July 2019.
The largest share of tourists in Estonian accommodation establishments again arrived from Finland – 52% of foreign tourists. This was followed by Latvia, Germany, Lithuania, Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and Asian countries. Compared with July 2022, there were more tourists from European countries as well as from countries further away. The number of Finnish tourists was up by 6%, Latvian tourists by 2%, and Lithuanian tourists by 13%. More tourists than a year earlier also arrived from Sweden, the US, the UK, and Poland. The number of tourists arriving from Asia doubled in a year but still remained more than twice below the pre-pandemic levels. The number of arrivals from Germany was down by 4% compared with July last year.
83% of the foreign tourists were on holiday and 12% were travelling on business. 67% of the foreign tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in Harju county, followed by Pärnu (13%), Tartu (6%), Saare (5%), Lääne (2%), and Ida-Viru (2%) counties. Lääne-Viru, Valga, Viljandi, and Võru counties each accommodated 1% of the foreign tourists. Foreign travellers spent a total of nearly 471,000 nights in Estonia.
More than 239,000 domestic tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in July. 77% of them were on holiday and 13% were on business trips. The largest share of domestic tourists, more than a quarter, was accommodated in Harju county. 16% stayed in Pärnu county, 10% in Ida-Viru county, and 9% in Saare county. Lääne-Viru and Tartu county each accommodated 7% of domestic tourists. In total, domestic tourists spent over 454,000 nights in accommodation establishments.
In July, 1,243 accommodation establishments served visitors in Estonia, which is 22 more than in June. There were 24,000 rooms and more than 57,000 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 60%. The average cost of a guest night was 47 euros per person, which is 4 euros more than in July 2022 and 11 euros more than in July 2019. The average cost of a guest night increased by 9% year on year. The average cost of an overnight stay per person was 56 euros in Pärnu county, 52 euros in Harju and Saare counties, 46 euros in Tartu county, 43 euros in Lääne county, and 38 euros in Ida-Viru county. The average cost of overnight accommodation rose in most 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.
When using Statistics Estonia’s data and graphs, please indicate the source.
For further information:
Helen Maria Raadik
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)