In February, the number of tourists grew by 70%
According to Statistics Estonia, in February 2022, Estonian accommodation establishments served nearly 170,000 tourists, which is 70% more than in February last year. The numbers of domestic tourists and foreign tourists both increased.
Helga Laurmaa, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that 60,000 foreign tourists and 110,000 domestic tourists were accommodated in Estonia in February. The number of foreign tourists was four times bigger than in February 2021, but it was still nearly two times lower than in February 2019. “The number of foreign tourists was comparable to February 2009, when the Estonian hotel industry was suffering from the recession. On the other hand, there were 26% more domestic tourists and their number increased slightly even compared to February 2019,” noted Laurmaa.
For 69% of domestic tourists, the purpose of their trip was holiday, and 22% were on business trips. The biggest share of domestic tourists (32%) were accommodated in Harju county. 15% of domestic tourists stayed overnight in Pärnu county, 12% in Tartu county, 9% in Ida-Viru county and 7% in Valga county. Domestic tourists spent a total of 178,000 nights in accommodation establishments.
Compared to February 2021, there was an increase in the number of tourists from European countries as well as from countries outside of Europe. One of the reasons for the significant change was again the very low reference base. The biggest number of tourists came from Finland (nearly 18,000) and Latvia (over 12,000). There were 5,000 tourists from Russia, 2,000 tourists from Lithuania and 2,000 tourists from Germany. 69% of the foreign tourists were accommodated in Harju county, followed by Pärnu (13%), Tartu (7%), Ida-Viru (3%) and Valga (2%) counties. Foreign tourists spent a total of 123,000 nights in Estonia.
In February, there were 919 accommodation establishments open for tourists in Estonia, which is 31 establishments more than in February 2021. There were about 20,000 rooms and 45,500 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 32%. The average cost of a guest night was 36 euros per person, which is six euros more than in February 2021 but at the same level compared to February 2019. The average cost of an overnight stay per person was 45 euros in Lääne-Viru county, 41 euros in Tartu county, 37 euros in Harju county, 33 euros in Valga county and 31 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:
Kadri Kütt
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181