Estonia Recorded 31% More Overnight Stays in February 2023 Than in the Same Month Last Year

According to Statistics Estonia, such a number of tourist overnight stays represents a 31 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, and the same said that February figures indicate that both the number of domestic and foreign tourists increased, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

Commenting on the figures, the leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, Helga Laurmaa, said that of the total number of tourists that were accommodated in Estonia in February, 103,000 were foreigners, whereas the remaining part were domestic tourists.

The same noted that compared to February 2022, the number of foreign tourists who stayed in Estonian accommodation establishments in February of this year increased by 71 per cent. As for domestic tourists, it has been revealed that their number increased too, but not as much as that of foreigners.

“Compared with February 2022, there were 71 per cent more foreign tourists, but their number was still 15 per cent smaller than in February 2020, just before the pandemic. The number of domestic tourists rose by eight per cent year on year,” the statement of Laurmaa reads.

Data provided by Statistics Estonia show that this year the country registered a higher number of tourists from European countries, with Finland and Latvia being the main countries of origin.

Estonia accommodated more than 10,000 tourists from the two above-mentioned countries in February 2023 – 48,000 tourists from Finland and almost 14,000 tourists from Latvia.

Compared to February of last year, the number of tourists from the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Germany, Sweden, Poland, and the US, among others, increased too.

As for accommodation, Statistics Estonia revealed that the majority of tourists – 80 per cent of them – stayed in accommodation establishments in Harju county. The latter was followed by Pärnu (eight per cent), Tartu (six per cent), Ida-Viru (one per cent) and Valga (one per cent) counties.

Regarding the accommodation establishment, Statistics Estonia noted that in February 2023, a total of 910 accommodation establishments served visitors in Estonia.

“There were 21,000 rooms and 47,000-bed places available for guests. The room occupancy rate was 42 per cent. The average cost of a guest night was €42 per person, which is €6 more than in February 2022 and €8 more than in February 2020,” Statistics Estonia added.

The same said that the average cost for an overnight stay per person was €51 in Lääne-Viru county, €49 in Tartu county, €45 in Harju county, €42 in Ida-Viru county, and €35 in Pärnu county.