Record number of domestic tourists accommodated in July
According to Statistics Estonia, in July 2021, Estonian accommodation establishments served 381,000 tourists, which is a tenth more than in the same month last year. The number of domestic tourists increased compared to both July 2020 and July 2019, while the number of foreign tourists remained significantly smaller than in previous years.
Helga Laurmaa, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said there were still various travel restrictions due to the coronavirus, which prevented a rise in tourism and the number of foreign tourists visiting Estonia was significantly lower than in the summer before the crisis. “In July 2019, domestic tourists represented 37% and foreign tourists 63% of accommodated guests. However, in July this year, 78% of the accommodated guests were domestic tourists and just 22% were foreign tourists”, added Laurmaa.
In July, accommodation establishments served 296,000 domestic tourists, which is 41% more than in the same month last year and 51% more than in 2019 before the coronavirus crisis.
The number of foreign tourists decreased for the second year in a row: in July this year, there were 85,000 foreign tourists, compared to 136,000 in July 2020 and 328,000 in July 2019. As usual, the largest numbers of foreign tourists came from the neighbouring countries – 24,000 from Finland and 13,000 from Latvia. 6,100 tourists travelled to Estonia from Germany, 4,700 tourists came from Lithuania and 3,400 from Russia. Only the number of tourists arriving from Russia increased year on year.
Tourists spent a total of 701,000 nights in accommodation establishments, with domestic tourists accounting for 520,000 and foreign tourists for 181,000 nights spent. The majority of tourists preferred to stay overnight in Harju county, followed by Pärnu and Tartu counties.
In July, there were 1,211 accommodation establishments open for tourists in Estonia, which is 2% less than last year and 14% less than in 2019. There were 22,800 rooms and 54,300 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 46%.
The average cost of a guest night was 36 euros per person, which is four euros more than in the same month last year. The average cost of an overnight stay per person was 42 euros in Pärnu county, 41 euros in Tartu county and 39 euros in Harju and Saare 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
Kadri Kütt
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181