In 2023, the number of outbound trips rose by 40 percent on year.

The rise for domestic trips in 2023 compared with 2022 was half that, at 20 percent, the agency reported.

The main outbound destinations of choice were Finland, Latvia, Italy and Turkey, the agency said.

Commenting on the results, Sigrid Saagpakk, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that Estonian residents mainly travel for vacation purposes. "Nearly 1.7 million domestic and 980,000 outbound holiday trips took place last year," she said.

"Of the 3.2 million overnight domestic trips, close to 30 percent (also 980,000) consisted of visits to friends or relatives," Saagpakk went on.

Nearly 13 percent (193,300) of the 1.5 million outbound overnight trips were to visit friends, while 19 percent (286,100) were business trips.

A total of 360,000 overnight domestic business trips were made in 2023, Saagpakk added.

Most (90 percent of the total) domestic trips were short in duration, between one and three nights,

Conversely, less than half (40 percent) of outbound trips were of a similarly short duration, the agency reported.

A total of 34 percent of outbound trips lasted between four and seven nights; 20 percent were longer than seven nights.

Neighboring countries remain popular outbound destinations.

"The most-visited foreign countries are Estonia's neighbors Finland (with 193,900 trips in 2023) and Latvia (184,000 trips). The next most popular foreign destinations were Italy (100,400) and Turkey (77,600)," Saagpakk went on.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the volume of visits to Russia in 2023 was about a quarter of the 2019 total.

As for domestic breaks, Saagpakk said: "For years, the most popular domestic destinations have been Harju, Pärnu and Tartu counties, followed by Ida-Viru County and Saaremaa."

4.9 million accommodation nights were booked abroad, by those making foreign visits, across all types of accommodation businesses.

In Estonia, paid accommodation options (3.1 million nights total in 2023) was popular, though non-paid accommodation was also heavily utilized, Statistics Estonia said.

"For instance, a total of 2.8 million nights were spent at an acquaintance's or relative's residence in 2023," Saagpakk added.

Business travel expenditures rising

On average, an Estonian traveler spends €179 on a domestic trip, Statistics Estonia reported.

On this, Saagpakk said: "Compared with 2021 and 2022, the amount has remained quite constant. The largest increase in spending on domestic trips took place after 2019, when the average expenditure stood at around €130."

Saagpakk added that the per-person domestic holiday expenditure averaged at €220 in 2023; far from being costlier, the reported per person figure for business trips was actually lower in 2023, at €185.

The figure per person was much higher with foreign trips, again as might be expected given their duration and distances travel.

The average here stood at €1,080, up from €860 in 2021.

"Transport (at 36 percent of the total) and accommodation (30 percent) accounted for the bulk of the costs," Saagpakk said.

In this case, those taking business trips spent more (€1,280 per person), albeit only by around €100 per person, than those vacationing, Statistics Estonia reported.

Statistics Estonia has been conducting a Tourism Survey commissioned by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office of the European Union, for over a decade now, with the aim of obtaining objective tourism statistics comparable between EU countries.

The survey samples 2,500 people each quarter.

More detailed data on tourism is available from the Statistics Estonia website here.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!