In September, there was a significant rise in the number of accommodated tourists from Asia

Helga Laurmaa, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that 138,000 foreign tourists were accommodated in Estonia in September. “There were 7% more foreign tourists accommodated than in September last year, but the number of foreign tourists did not yet reach the pre-pandemic level and was more than a fourth (27%) smaller than in September 2019,” added Laurmaa. 136,000 domestic tourists stayed in accommodation establishments, which is 4% more than in September last year and 29% more than in September 2019 before the pandemic.

As usual, the biggest number of accommodated tourists arrived from Finland, accounting for 35% of foreign tourists. Finland was followed by Latvia (13%), Germany (6%), Lithuania (5%), the USA (4%) and the United Kingdom (4%). Compared with September 2022, there were more accommodated tourists from many European countries as well as from countries further away. The number of Finnish tourists increased by 2%, Latvian tourists by 12%, and Lithuanian tourists by 32%. Compared with September last year, there were also more accommodated tourists from Germany, the United Kingdom, the USA, Sweden, and Poland. There were 90% more tourists from Asian countries than in September last year, but their number represented just 30% of the pre-crisis level.

74% of the foreign tourists were on holiday and 20% were travelling on business. 74% of the foreign tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in Harju county, followed by Pärnu (10%), Tartu (6%), Saare (3%), and Ida-Viru (2%) counties. Lääne, Lääne-Viru, Valga and Võru counties each accommodated 1% of the foreign tourists. Foreign tourists spent nearly 277,000 nights in total in Estonia.

In the case of domestic tourists, 69% were on holiday and 23% were on business trips. The biggest share of the domestic tourists was accommodated in Harju county (34%), followed by Pärnu (12%), Ida-Viru (10%), Tartu (10%) and Saare (7%) counties. Domestic tourists spent a total of 222,000 nights in accommodation establishments.

In September, 1,096 accommodation establishments served visitors in Estonia (down by 12% compared with August). There were 23,000 rooms and over 54,000 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 46%. The average cost of a guest night was 48 euros per person, which is 3 euros more than in September 2022 and 8 euros more than in September 2019. The average cost of a guest night increased by 7% year on year. The average cost of an overnight stay per person was 53 euros in Harju county, 49 euros in Tartu county, 48 euros in Lääne-Viru county, 43 euros in Saare, Lääne and Ida-Viru counties, and 42 euros in Pärnu county.

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:

Vahur Koorits
Communications Partner
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9204

press [at] stat.ee

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