The number of tourists is growing, but there are still few foreign tourists
According to Statistics Estonia, in May 2021, Estonian accommodation establishments served 90,000 tourists, which is nearly one and a half times more than in May last year. The numbers of foreign and domestic tourists both increased.
Helga Laurmaa, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that in May 2020 the spread of the coronavirus still had a significant impact on the movement of people. “This year, people travelled more and consequently accommodation establishments served 1.4 times more domestic tourists. The number of foreign tourists is on the rise, but they accounted for just 16% of all tourists,” explained Laurmaa.
Accommodation establishments served 75,000 domestic tourists and 15,000 foreign tourists. Nearly 3,000 tourists came from Finland, 2,000 from Latvia, more than 900 tourists travelled to Estonia from Germany, nearly 800 from Russia and 750 from Lithuania. The majority of tourists preferred to stay overnight in Harju county, followed by Tartu and Pärnu counties.
Tourists spent a total of 180,000 nights in accommodation establishments, of which domestic tourists accounted for 135,000 nights and foreign tourists for 45,000 nights.
In May, there were 1,058 accommodation establishments open for tourists in Estonia, which is 11% more than the year before. There were 21,000 rooms and 48,000 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 17%. The average cost of a guest night was 29 euros per person, which is three euros more than at the same time last year. The average cost of an overnight stay was 29 euros in Harju county, 30 euros in Pärnu and Tartu counties, 32 euros in Lääne-Viru county and 34 euros 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.
For further information:
Kadri Kütt
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181