In January a lot of foreign tourists stayed in accommodation establishments

In January 123,000 foreign and domestic tourists used the services of accommodation establishments or 9% more than in January of the previous year. 81% of foreign tourists stayed in accommodation establishments of Tallinn, 5% in Pärnu and 3% in Tartu. Compared to January of the previous year more foreign tourists stayed in accommodation establishments of major cities and many counties. Compared to January of the previous year, one fifth more foreign tourists stayed in accommodation establishments of Tallinn and 28% more in accommodation establishments of Valga county. The increase in the number of foreign tourists in accommodation establishments of Tallinn and Valga county was affected by international winter sports events, which took place in Tallinn and Otepää. 71% of accommodated foreign tourists arrived in Estonia for holidays, a fifth was on a business trip and the rest had some other reason for visiting Estonia.

40% of clients of accommodation establishments were domestic tourists. The share of domestic tourists in accommodation establishments decreased 5 percentage points compared to January of the previous year. 1,200 domestic tourists less than in January last year used the services of accommodation establishments. A quarter of domestic tourists stayed in accommodation establishments of Harju county and Tallinn, 14% stayed in accommodation establishments of Valga county and 12% stayed in accommodation establishments of Tartu and Tartu county. A half of domestic tourists were on a holiday trip and 29% on a business trip.

In January 739 accommodation establishments with 16,500 rooms and 36,100 beds were available for tourists. The room occupancy rate was 29% and it was two percentage points more than in January 2009.

The average cost of a guest night in an accommodation establishment was 404 kroons and the average cost of a guest night continues to decline. It was 45 kroons cheaper compared to January 2009.