The number of Finnish tourists tripled in November
According to Statistics Estonia, in November 2022, Estonian accommodation establishments served nearly 226,000 tourists, which is 35% more than in November 2021. There was a rise in the number of both foreign* and domestic tourists.
Helga Laurmaa, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that 105,300 foreign and 120,400 domestic tourists were accommodated in Estonia in November. “Compared with November 2021, there were 60% more foreign tourists. This sharp increase was mainly due to the low reference base. The number of foreign tourists did not yet reach pre-pandemic levels, as it was comparable to the figures for November 2010 and 2011. However, the number of domestic tourists set a new record for November,” noted Laurmaa.
The biggest number of foreign visitors came from Finland (42,000) and Latvia (17,000). The number of accommodated tourists from these neighbouring countries increased, respectively, by 203% and 30% compared with November 2021. Tourist arrivals from Finland did not reach pre-pandemic levels, but the number of Latvian tourists was 14% higher. Compared with November 2019, there were bigger numbers of tourists arriving from several countries further away – the USA, Italy, France, Germany. Arrivals from Norway, Sweden, and Asian countries were still far below the level of November 2019 before the coronavirus crisis. 78% of the foreign tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in Harju county, followed by Pärnu (10%) and Tartu (5%) counties. Foreign tourists spent almost 219,000 nights in Estonia in total.
For 64% of domestic tourists, the purpose of their trip was holiday, and 27% were on business trips. The largest share of domestic tourists (35%) was accommodated in Harju county, 14% in Pärnu county, 12% in Tartu county, 9% in Ida-Viru county, and 6% in Lääne-Viru county. Domestic tourists spent a total of 199,000 nights in accommodation establishments.
In November, 954 accommodation establishments with five or more bed places served visitors – this is 19 fewer than in October. There were 21,000 rooms and 48,000 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 41%. The average cost of a guest night was 45 euros per person, which is one euro more than in October. The average cost of an overnight stay per person was 50 euros in Ida-Viru county, 49 euros in Tartu county, 48 euros in Harju county, 47 euros in Lääne-Viru county, and 34 euros in Pärnu county.
* The number of foreign tourists does not include refugees from Ukraine.
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:
Helen Maria Raadik
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181
press [at] stat.ee