The number of tourists continues to rise
According to Statistics Estonia, nearly 222,000 tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in February 2023, which is 31% more than in February last year. The number of both domestic and foreign tourists increased.
Helga Laurmaa, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that about 103,000 foreign and 119,000 domestic tourists were accommodated in Estonia in February. Compared with February 2022, there were 71% more foreign tourists, but their number was still 15% smaller than in February 2020, just before the pandemic. The number of domestic tourists rose by 8% year on year. “More domestic tourists were accommodated than ever before in February,” added Laurmaa.
Compared with February 2022, there were more tourists from many European countries as well as from countries outside of Europe. There were over 10,000 accommodated tourists from two neighbouring countries – 48,000 from Finland and almost 14,000 from Latvia. The number of arrivals from these two countries was higher than in February last year. Compared with February 2022, there were also more accommodated tourists from the United Kingdom, Germany, Lithuania, Sweden, Poland, the USA, and Asian countries. 80% of the foreign tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in Harju county, followed by Pärnu (8%), Tartu (6%), Ida-Viru (1%) and Valga (1%) counties. Foreign tourists spent a total of 208,000 nights in Estonia.
For 68% of domestic tourists, the purpose of their trip was holiday, and 22% were on business trips. The largest share of domestic tourists (32%) was accommodated in Harju county, 13% in Pärnu county, 12% in Tartu county, and 10% in Ida-Viru county. 8% of domestic tourists stayed overnight in Valga county and 6% in Lääne-Viru county. Domestic tourists spent a total of 202,000 nights in accommodation establishments.
In February, 910 accommodation establishments served visitors in Estonia. There were 21,000 rooms and 47,000 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 42%. The average cost of a guest night was 42 euros per person, which is 6 euros more than in February 2022 and 8 euros more than in February 2020. The average cost of an overnight stay per person was 51 euros in Lääne-Viru county, 49 euros in Tartu county, 45 euros in Harju county, 42 euros in Ida-Viru county, and 35 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.
For further information:
Helen Maria Raadik
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181
press [at] stat.ee