The number of foreign tourists rose substantially in March

Helga Laurmaa, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that nearly 77,000 foreign tourists and 116,000 domestic tourists were accommodated in Estonia in March. “The number of foreign tourists did not yet reach the pre-pandemic level, but it was only 38% smaller than that. In March 2021, there were just 8,700 foreign tourists. The number of domestic tourists set a new record, just like in January this year,” explained Laurmaa.  

For 68% of domestic tourists, the purpose of their trip was holiday, and 23% were on business trips. The biggest share of domestic tourists (34%) were accommodated in Harju county. 15% of domestic tourists stayed overnight in Pärnu county, 14% in Tartu county and 10% in Ida-Viru county. Lääne-Viru, Saare and Valga counties each accommodated 5% of domestic tourists. Domestic tourists spent a total of 197,000 nights in accommodation establishments.

Compared to March 2021, there was an increase in the number of tourists from European countries as well as from countries outside of Europe. The very low reference base was still one of the reasons for the significant change. The biggest number of tourists came from Finland (nearly 23,000) and Latvia (over 16,000). There were nearly 6,000 tourists from Russia, 3,000 tourists from Lithuania and 3,000 tourists from Germany. 72% of the foreign tourists were accommodated in Harju county, followed by Pärnu (11%), Tartu (7%) and Ida-Viru (4%) counties. Saare and Valga counties each accommodated 1% of foreign tourists. Foreign tourists spent a total of 157,000 nights in Estonia.

In March, there were 909 accommodation establishments open for tourists in Estonia, which is 12 establishments more than in March last year. There were 19,900 rooms and 45,700 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 34%. The average cost of a guest night was 37 euros per person, which is 11 euros more than in March 2021 and one euro higher than in March 2019. The average cost of an overnight stay per person was 44 euros in Lääne-Viru county, 41 euros in Tartu county, 39 euros in Valga county, 38 euros in Harju and Ida-Viru counties, and 33 euros in Pärnu county.

* The number of foreign tourists does not include refugees from Ukraine.

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.