In the first half of 2026, there were 4% more accommodated tourists than the year before
According to Statistics Estonia, in the first half of 2026, accommodation establishments served 1.66 million tourists, which is 4% more than in the same period last year. There were 5% more foreign tourists and 3% more domestic tourists than in the first half of last year.
In the first six months of 2026, there were more than 874,900 foreign and nearly 789,400 domestic tourists accommodated in Estonia. Piret Pukk, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the number of nights spent also increased year on year. “Compared with the first half of 2025, the number of nights spent was up by 5%, totalling 3.04 million,” said Pukk.
From January to June 2026, foreign tourists stayed for over 1.72 million nights and domestic tourists for more than 1.32 million nights. Year on year, the number of nights spent by foreign tourists was up by 7% and the number of nights spent by domestic tourists grew by 3%.
Nights spent by accommodated tourists, January–June
| Nights spent by Estonian residents | Nights spent by foreign tourists | |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1,122,750 | 1,885,503 |
| 2025 | 1,278,024 | 1,614,971 |
| 2026 | 1,320,172 | 1,722,610 |
Compared with the first half of 2019 before the pandemic, there were 1% more accommodated tourists and overnight stays in the first half of this year. Compared with the same period of 2019, there were 16% more accommodated residents but 10% fewer accommodated foreign tourists. There were also 18% more overnight stays by Estonian residents, while the number of nights spent by non-residents was down by 9%.
78% of the foreign tourists accommodated in the first half of 2026 were on holiday and 18% were on business trips. In the case of accommodated domestic tourists, 70% were on holiday and 21% were travelling on business. A small share of the accommodated guests were travelling for other purposes.
There were fewer tourists from Finland and more tourists from Latvia and the United Kingdom
In the first six months of 2026, the biggest numbers of accommodated tourists arrived from Finland (34%), Latvia (15%) and Germany (6%). Tourist arrivals from Finland totalled more than 298,400 – down by 1% from the year before. The number of accommodated Latvian tourists was nearly 135,200, which is 6% more than in the same period in 2025. There were almost 51,200 German tourists accommodated, up by 1% year on year.
There was also a considerable number of accommodated tourists from Lithuania (38,300, +7%) and the United Kingdom (39,000, +19%). There were over 24,000 tourists from Asian countries as well as from the USA, Poland and Sweden. 78% of the foreign tourists (over 684,200) accommodated in the first half of 2026 arrived from European Union countries. This number increased by 3% year on year.
Accommodated tourists by country of residence, January–June
| Country | 2025 (6 months) | 2026 (6 months) |
|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 766,794 | 789,377 |
| Finland | 300,122 | 298,432 |
| Latvia | 127,104 | 135,167 |
| Germany | 50,783 | 51,211 |
| United Kingdom | 32,856 | 39,016 |
| Lithuania | 35,751 | 38,307 |
| USA | 24,848 | 28,515 |
| Asian countries | 26,153 | 26,738 |
| Poland | 19,121 | 25,971 |
| Sweden | 24,312 | 24,303 |
| Other countries | 190,712 | 207,243 |
In the first six months of 2026, more than half (54%) of all accommodated tourists stayed in Harju county, with 51% staying overnight in Tallinn. 11% of the tourists were accommodated in Pärnu city (12% in Pärnu county) and 8% in Tartu city (9% in Tartu county). From January to June 2026, 6% of the accommodated tourists stayed overnight in Ida-Viru county and 4% were accommodated in both Saare and Valga counties. In this period, the number of accommodated guests increased the most in Valga county (13%).
Considering only foreign tourists, nearly three quarters (74%) of them were accommodated in Harju county (72% in Tallinn) in the first half of 2026. 11% of the foreign tourists were accommodated in Pärnu county and 7% in Tartu county. In the same period, 2% of the foreign tourists stayed overnight in Ida-Viru and Saare counties.
In the first half of this year, the largest numbers of domestic tourists were also accommodated in Harju (33%), Pärnu (14%) and Tartu (11%) counties. Other counties popular among Estonian residents for overnight visits were Ida-Viru, Lääne-Viru, Valga, Saare and Lääne counties.
Statistics Estonia collects and analyses accommodation data for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications with the aim to determine how the tourism sector is doing. All accommodation establishments with 5 or more bed places are included.
Data as at 10 August 2026 are published. The indicator values may change if there are any revisions made in the data sources after this date.
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:
Annaliisa Köss
Media Relations Partner
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 5696 6484
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)