10.7.2023 | Estonia

Number of foreign tourists up 7% in May

Text Mark Taylor
Photo Andrei Chertkov

According to Statistics Estonia, 265,000 tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in May 2023, which was 7 per cent more than in May last year. Despite the number of foreign tourists increasing, there were fewer domestic tourists.

“141,000 foreign tourists were accommodated in Estonia in May. The number of foreign tourists did not yet reach the pre-pandemic level as it was nearly a third smaller than in May 2019. But compared with May 2022, the number of foreign tourists increased by 21 per cent,” said Helga Laurmaa, a leading analyst at Statistics Estonia.

The number of domestic tourists decreased for the second month in a row, down 5 per cent in April and 6 per cent in May – compared with the corresponding months of last year. However, there were 12 per cent more domestic tourists than in May 2019.

Compared with May 2022, there were more tourists from many European countries as well as from countries outside of Europe. 60,000 tourists from Finland and roughly 19,000 tourists from Latvia were accommodated. The number of arrivals from both countries was higher than in May last year. Compared with May 2022, there were also more accommodated tourists from Germany, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the USA, Poland, and Asian countries. 72 per cent of the foreign tourists were on holiday, while 22 per cent were travelling on business. 73 per cent of foreign tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in Harjumaa, followed by Pärnumaa (10 per cent), Tartumaa (7 per cent), Saaremaa (3 per cent) and Ida-Virumaa (2 per cent).

In May, nearly 124,000 domestic tourists stayed in accommodation establishments. 64 per cent of them were on holiday and 27 per cent were on business trips. The largest share (more than a third) of domestic tourists were accommodated in Harjumaa, 13 per cent in Pärnumaa, 10 per cent in Ida-Virumaa, and 9 per cent in Tartumaa.

In May, the average cost of a guest night was 49 euros per person, which is 6 euros more than in May 2022, an increase of 14 per cent year on year. The average cost of an overnight stay per person was 55 euros in Harjumaa, 52 euros in Lääne-Virumaa, 49 euros in Tartumaa, 45 euros in Ida-Virumaa, 41 euros in Pärnumaa and 34 euros in Saaremaa.