According to Statistics Estonia, in 2023, Estonian accommodation establishments served over 3.43 million tourists, which is 5% more than in 2022. The number of foreign tourists increased last year, while the number of domestic tourists decreased.
Helga Laurmaa, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that nearly 1.67 million foreign tourists and nearly 1.76 million domestic tourists were accommodated in Estonia.
“Compared with 2022, there were 14% more foreign tourists, but their number did not yet reach the pre-pandemic level and was similar to the number of tourist arrivals in 2010. The number of domestic tourists was 2% lower than the record number registered in 2022,” added Laurmaa.
The biggest number of foreign visitors came from Finland (697 000) and Latvia (229 000).
Compared with 2022, there were, respectively, 18% and 12% more accommodated tourists from these neighbouring countries. Tourist arrivals from Finland have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, but the number of tourists from Latvia was a fourth bigger than in 2019. Tourist arrivals from many more distant countries – such as Germany, the United Kingdom, the USA – were higher in 2023 than in 2022 but still lower than in 2019.
In December 2023, the number of tourists accommodated was 271 000, which is 5% more than in December 2022. There were about 141 000 foreign and 131 000 domestic tourists, which means that there were 17% more foreign tourists and 5% fewer domestic tourists accommodated than in December 2022.
83% of the foreign tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in Harju county,
followed by Pärnu (8%) and Tartu (4%) counties. Foreign tourists spent nearly 279 000 nights in total in Estonia. The largest share of domestic tourists (33%) was accommodated in Harju county, 14% in Pärnu county, 11% in Tartu county, 11% in Ida-Viru county, and 7% in Valga county. Domestic tourists spent a total of 210 000 nights in accommodation establishments.
In December, there were 938 accommodation establishments with five or more bed places open for tourists – this is 15 fewer than in November. There were 21 000 rooms and 48 000 bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 44%. The average cost of a guest night was 49 euros per person, which is three euros more than in November.
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