Finnish tourism to Estonia at 10-year low, Chinese visits rise
While foreign tourism rose in 2019, the number of Finnish tourists coming to Estonia reached a 10-year low, data from the Bank of Estonia shows. At the same time, the number of tourists from China rose by a quarter.
6.1 million foreign tourists visited the country in 2019, a rise on year of 1 percent. Of these, 2 million were from Finland which, although still one in three of all foreign tourists, represented the lowest figure for 10 years, according to BNS, citing the Bank of Estonia data - a fall of 2 percent.
EU tourism saw a 2 percent increase on year to 2019, with Belgium Lithuania and Denmark all rising by over 10 percent.
Tourism from Japan fell by 8 percent over the same period, and that from South Korea fell by 10 percent.
However, the number of visitors from China saw a much larger rise, of 25 percent on year.
Overnight and same-day visits
There were 100,000 more overnight visits in 2019 than in 2018, although these were shorter in length, according to the data. Visitors from abroad spent more than €1.4 billion in Estonia in 2019.
The number of same-day visits fell 2 percent year-on-year, with these visits making up 45 percent of the total number of visits by foreigners to Estonia.
Estonian tourism abroad in slight rise
Estonian residents made 3.6 million visits to other countries during 2019, a 1 percent rise. Foreign trips within the EU fell by 1 percent, however, with Lithuania, Poland and Greece seeing a fall in popularity, though Belgium and Spain increased as visitor destinations.
Outside of the EU, Ukraine, Turkey and Egypt also saw an increase in Estonian tourism.
The number of Estonian residents visiting Croatia, which had risen for eight years in a row, fell in 2019.
The number of same-day visits by Estonian residents dropped 5 percent on year; these made up 14 percent of the total number of visits.
The number of overnight stays rose by 8 percent and the average length of a trip was four nights.
Estonian residents spent over €1.1 billion abroad last year, according to the data.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte