The number of foreign tourists and overnight stays in Estonia has set a new record for the period from the beginning of the year to the end of May. A total of 491,000 tourists from abroad stayed at accommodation establishments in Estonia during this time. The increase from the same period last year is 61,000 tourists or 14%, which is more than in the pre-recession period. Included in the total is the number of tourists from Russia - 54,211 - which set an all-time record, bringing in 48% more visitors to Estonia than in the same period a year ago.
The number of tourists was greatest in January, which was aided by the fact that the European championships in figure skating were held in Tallinn and by the New Year's Eve trips to Estonia taken by Russian tourists.
The number of overnight stays by Russian tourists saw noteworthy increase both in spas and health resorts as well as other accommodation enterprises. "Reasons for the strong growth in the number of Russian tourists include the active promotion of Estonian tourism opportunities by the private and public sector in Russia, the continuing growth of the popularity of Estonia as a New Year's Eve destination, the lowering of the tax-free purchase limit as of the beginning of 2010, several new transport connections from St. Petersburg as well as a number of events that took place in the first quarter," said Estonian Tourist Board director Tarmo Mutso.
In the first five months of the year, foreign tourists spent a total of 1.03 million nights in Estonia, which exceeds the figure for the same period last year by 18%. Trips for business, pleasure and other reasons all became longer on average, but holiday trips in particular saw an increase.
Finnish and Russian tourists primarily accounted for the increase in the number of overnight stays. Finnish overnight stays increased predominantly in Tallinn, where the number of stays easily set a new all-time record. Russian tourists' overnight stays in Tallinn also accounted for much of the increase, but Russian tourists' overnight stays also doubled in Lääne-Viru County, Harju County, Valga County and Võru County.
A majority of Estonia's other primary markets evidenced growth in the first five months, although the absolute figures are much lower than in the case of tourists from Finland and Russia.
Even though the number of nights spent by internal and external tourists in Estonia grew 12% in the period, corporate incomes grew only 2.6%. The average cost per day calculated by Statistics Estonia continued to drop, pointing to the fact that the growth in demand (including the slightly longer duration of stay) was achieved with lower-priced offers.
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