The number of Finnish tourists tripled in a year
According to Statistics Estonia, over 196,000 tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in January 2023, which is 24% more than in the same month a year earlier. The number of both domestic and foreign tourists increased.
Helga Laurmaa, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that more than 82,000 foreign and over 114,000 domestic tourists were accommodated in Estonia in January. Compared with January 2022, there were 54% more foreign tourists, but still fewer than in January 2020, just before the pandemic. “The number of accommodated foreign tourists was similar to the figure in January 2017. The number of domestic tourists increased by 9% year on year and set an all-time record for January,” Laurmaa added.
January saw year-on-year growth in the number of tourists from many European countries as well as from outside Europe. This increase was partly due to the low reference base. The biggest number of foreign visitors came to Estonia from Finland (29,000) and Latvia (nearly 14,000). There were three times as many Finnish tourists as in January 2022, while the number of Latvian tourists was up 31%. More tourists than a year earlier also arrived from Lithuania, Germany, the UK, the US, and Asian countries. 79% of the foreign tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in Harju county, followed by Pärnu (8%), Tartu (6%), and Ida-Viru (2%) counties. Foreign tourists spent a total of 170,000 nights in Estonia.
For 68% of domestic tourists, the purpose of their trip was holiday, and 24% were on business trips. The largest share of domestic tourists (33%) was accommodated in Harju county, 13% in Tartu county, 12% in Pärnu county, and 10% Ida-Viru county. 8% of domestic tourists stayed overnight in Valga county and 6% in Lääne-Viru county. Domestic tourists spent a total of 193,000 nights in accommodation establisments.
In January, 913 accommodation establishments served visitors in Estonia. There were 21,000 rooms and 47,000 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 35%. The average cost of a guest night was 44 euros per person, which is 8 euros more expensive than in 2022 and 6 euros more expensive than in January 2020. The average cost of an overnight stay per person was 51 euros in Lääne-Viru county, 48 euros in Tartu county, 46 euros in Harju and Ida-Viru counties, and 37 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 tourism, accommodation and food service and the tourism industry dashboard.
More detailed data have been published in the statistical database.
For further information:
Hanna-Liisa Ruul
Communications Partner
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9264
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