In March, the number of accommodated tourists dropped by more than a half

According to Helga Laurmaa, analyst at Statistics Estonia, the number of tourists fell considerably in March because of the emergency situation in the country. “In the middle of March, many countries closed borders and recommended people to stay at home, and this shows now in accommodation statistics,” said Laurmaa.

In total, 45,000 foreign tourists used the services of accommodation establishments. The largest share of foreign tourists (35%) came from Finland, 21% came from Russia and 9% came from Latvia. Compared to March 2019, the number of foreign tourists decreased by 64%. The number of tourists from Latvia decreased by 71%, from Finland by 65% and from Russia by 53% year-on-year.

In March, most foreign tourists came to Estonia for holiday, some came on business and the rest had some other reason for visiting. Foreign tourists spent 94,000 nights in Estonia, which is 62% less than in March 2019. The majority of foreign tourists preferred the accommodation establishments of Harju county, followed by Pärnu, Ida-Viru and Tartu counties.

Accommodation establishments served 45,000 domestic tourists, whose nights spent totalled 83,000. The number of domestic tourists decreased by 59% and their nights spent by 52% compared to March 2019. Most domestic tourists were on holiday and a quarter were on a business trip. The most popular destination was Harju county, followed by Pärnu, Tartu and Ida-Viru counties.

In March, 908 accommodation establishments were available for tourists. The average cost of a guest night was 33 euros. Compared to March 2019, the cost was three euros lower. In Harju and Tartu counties, the average cost of a guest night was 37 euros, in Ida-Viru county 29 euros and in Pärnu county 27 euros.

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.