In February the number of tourists in accommodation establishments decreased

In February 58,000 domestic tourists and 63,000 foreign tourists used the services of accommodation establishments. 77% of foreign tourists stayed in accommodation establishments of Tallinn, 7% of Pärnu and 5% of Tartu. The number of foreign tourists in accommodation establishments of Tallinn decreased 14%, in accommodation establishments of Tartu and Pärnu the respective indicator slightly increased (in both cities by 2%). In February compared to the same month of the previous year, the number of foreign tourists from Estonia’s main partner countries in tourism — Finland, Russia, Latvia, Germany, etc. — decreased. The number of tourists from Sweden stayed on the same level as in February of the previous year.

The using of accommodation services among the Estonian residents was not as popular as in February of the previous year. The number of tourists on business trips decreased about one third and the number of tourists on holiday trips — 11%. The number of accommodated domestic tourists decreased in most counties. The number of domestic tourists increased in Lääne-Viru and Ida-Viru counties, where new spas were opened at the beginning of the previous summer season.

Usually in February compared to the first month of the year, the number of tourists increases. This year the growth was much smaller than in the previous year. In February the number of tourists in accommodation establishments increased only 7%, in the previous year the respective figure was 19%.

In February 721 accommodation establishments offered accommodation services to tourists. 16,200 rooms and 34,900 beds were available for tourists. The room occupancy rate was 29%, staying seven percentage points lower than in February of the previous year. The average cost of a guest night in an accommodation establishment was 429 kroons, which was by 29 kroons cheaper compared to February 2008.

Accommodation by regions, February 2009