The number of foreign tourists doubled in September
According to Statistics Estonia, in September 2021, Estonian accommodation establishments served over 214,000 tourists, which is 40% more than in the same month last year. The numbers of domestic tourists and foreign tourists both increased.
Helga Laurmaa, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that September 2021 was a more successful month for accommodation establishments than September last year. “People are tired of the restrictions and are using the opportunities to travel. Compared to September 2020, there were 21% more domestic tourists and 97% more foreign tourists accommodated this September,” added Laurmaa. Compared to September 2019 before the crisis, the number of accommodated domestic tourists grew by a third, while the number of foreign tourists fell by 61%.
Accommodation establishments served nearly 140,000 domestic tourists who spent a total of 228,000 nights. For 63% of domestic tourists, the purpose of their trip was holiday, and 25% were on business trips. The biggest share of domestic tourists (29%) were accommodated in Harju county, 16% in Pärnu county, 11% in Tartu county and 10% in Ida-Viru county.
There were over 74,000 accommodated foreign tourists, and they spent a total of almost 165,000 nights in Estonia. In September, year on year, there was an increase in the number of tourists from most European countries as well as from countries farther away. The number of tourists from Finland was over 20,000, which is 25% more than in September 2020, and there were 9,000 tourists from Latvia (58% more) and nearly 3,000 tourists from Russia (133% more). But the number of foreign tourists was still much lower than in September 2019 before the crisis.
The biggest share of foreign tourists (74%) were accommodated in Harju county, followed by Pärnu (8%) and Tartu (7%) counties.
In September, there were 1,094 accommodation establishments open for tourists in Estonia, which is five establishments more than last year. There were 22,000 rooms and 53,000 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 36%. The average cost of a guest night was 36 euros per person, which is three euros more than in the same month last year but four euros cheaper than in September 2019. The average cost of an overnight stay per person was 31 euros in Pärnu county, 39 euros in Harju county and 41 euros in Tartu 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:
Hanna-Liisa Ruul
Communications Partner
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 5341 1977