Tourism, accommodation and food service

Travelling is a great way to see life in neighbouring countries or in faraway places. Hundreds of millions of people travel every day – for work, vacation or to broaden one’s horizons. Visa-free travel in the Schengen area and the adoption of the euro have encouraged people to visit Estonia and made it easier for Estonian people to travel abroad. World Tourism Day is celebrated each year on September 27.

Statistics Estonia publishes the following tourism statistics:

• travelling of Estonian residents, including number of domestic and foreign trips, purposes of trips, destination countries and expenditures on trips;
• accommodated tourists and their nights spent;
• number of accommodation establishments, rooms and bed places;
• border crossings of non-residents, including their countries of residence, purposes of visit and expenditures on the trip;
• economic indicators of tourism, accommodation and food service activities.

In-depth knowledge on tourism volumes, the characteristics of tourists and costs and benefits for the national economy allow assessing the role of tourism in general economic development. Evaluating the impact of seasonal demand helps to develop a strategy for alleviating seasonality. The statistics on border crossings are an important basis for developing tourism, as they provide information on the countries of residence of tourists and their reasons for visiting.