The number of accommodated foreign tourists grew by a third in March

Helga Laurmaa, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that, compared with March 2022, there were more foreign as well as domestic tourists accommodated – 101,700 foreign and 124,500 domestic tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in Estonia in March this year. “Year on year, there were 33% more foreign tourists. Their number did not yet reach the pre-pandemic level as it was 18% lower than in March 2019,” noted Laurmaa. The number of domestic tourists rose by 8% year on year.

Compared with March 2022, there were more tourists from many European countries as well as from countries outside of Europe. The biggest number of accommodated tourists arrived from Finland (nearly 40,000). There were 19,000 tourists from Latvia. The number of arrivals from these two countries was higher than in March last year. Compared with March 2022, there were also more accommodated tourists from Germany, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the USA, Poland, and Asian countries. 69% of the foreign tourists were on holiday, and 26% were travelling on business. 76% of the foreign tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in Harju county, followed by Pärnu (11%), Tartu (6%) and Ida-Viru (2%) counties. Lääne-Viru, Saare, Valga and Võru counties each accommodated 1% of the foreign tourists. Foreign tourists spent a total of 216,000 nights in Estonia.

For 67% of the domestic tourists, the purpose of their trip was holiday, and 24% were on business trips. The largest share of domestic tourists (35%) was accommodated in Harju county, 14% in Pärnu county, 11% in Tartu county, and 10% in Ida-Viru county. 6% of the domestic tourists stayed overnight in Valga county. 5% were accommodated in Lääne-Viru county and 5% also in Saare county. Domestic tourists spent a total of 212,000 nights in accommodation establishments.

In March, 915 accommodation establishments served visitors in Estonia. There were 21,000 rooms and 47,000 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 40%. The average cost of a guest night was 43 euros per person, which is 6 euros more than in March 2022 and 7 euros more than in March 2019. The average cost of a guest night increased by 15% year on year. The average cost of an overnight stay per person was 51 euros in Lääne-Viru county, 48 euros in Tartu county, 45 euros in Harju county, 44 euros in Ida-Viru county, and 36 euros in Pärnu county. The average cost of overnight accommodation grew 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.

For further information:

Helen Maria Raadik
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181
press [at] stat.ee

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