Number of tourists in accommodation establishments did not increase significantly in September
According to Statistics Estonia, accommodation establishments served 278,000 tourists in September 2024, which is 1% more than in the same month a year earlier. The number of foreign tourists increased by 11%, while that of domestic tourists decreased by 8%.
Helga Laurmaa, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the number of accommodated tourists was still 6% lower than in September 2019. The number of foreign tourists in accommodation establishments was down by 20%, whereas the number of domestic tourists was 19% higher than in September of the record year before the crisis. “153,000 foreign and 125,000 domestic tourists were accommodated in Estonia in September 2024. The number of domestic tourists fell for the third month in a row,” Laurmaa added.
Nearly 46,000 tourists arrived from Finland, representing 30% of all accommodated foreign tourists. Accommodation establishments served 17,000 tourists from Latvia (11%), 13,000 tourists from Germany (9%) and 7,000 tourists from Lithuania (5%). Compared with September 2023, the biggest increase was registered in the number of accommodated tourists from Germany, which was up by 4,500 or 51%. There were 5% and 2% fewer tourists from neighbouring Finland and Latvia, respectively, and 9% fewer from Lithuania.
Typically for September, the majority (77%) of the accommodated foreign tourists were still on holiday, and 17% were travelling on business. 73% of foreign tourists preferred to stay overnight in Harju county, followed by Pärnu (10%), Tartu (7%) and Saare (3%) counties.
In the case of accommodated domestic tourists, 68% were on holiday and 23% were on business trips. The biggest share of domestic tourists were accommodated in Harju county (34%), followed by Pärnu (12%), Tartu and Ida-Viru (9% each) and Saare (7%) counties.
Tourists spent a total of 513,000 nights in accommodation establishments: domestic tourists stayed for 212,000 nights and foreign tourists for 302,000 nights in total.
In September, 1,059 accommodation establishments served visitors in Estonia. There were 23,000 rooms and 53,000 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 47%. The average cost of a guest night was €50 per person, which is 4% more expensive than in September 2023 and 25% more expensive than in September 2019. The average cost of an overnight stay per person was €55 in Tartu county, €54 in Harju county, €46 in Ida-Viru county, €45 in Pärnu county and €44 in Saare 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:
Heidi Kukk
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)