Wednesday's weather almost underscored the point – the weather nationwide was overcast and often rainy, and in Tallinn the mercury did not rise above the 15-degree mark.

AK found that those foreign tourists who had made it to the capital remained in good spirits and were eager to explore things.

One tourist, Maarit, from Finland, who came for a day trip from Helsinki with her friend, told AK she did not plan to stay overnight.

"We're going to eat, visit a beautician, the stores, and then head home," she said, adding she comes to Tallinn around once a year.

The Chang family from the U.S. arrived in Tallinn on a cruise ship. "We've been to Old Town and are just touring."

Last year, around 163,000 mostly one-day tourists arrived in Tallinn, carried by around 90 cruise liners.

This year the figure of cruise vessels expected is higher at 100, but these are smaller, meaning fewer tourists – at the most 150,000.

For comparison, the last pre-Covid summer, 2019, saw around 650,000 cruise tourists from many countries visit the Estonian capital.

There has also been a fall in tourists from countries closer to home, especially from Finland.

Piret Mürk-Dubout, board member of shipping line Tallink Grupp, said: "This year, thanks to the economic downturn and general uncertainty, people are making their decisions more cautiously, leading to a slight fall in traveler numbers. "

"In terms of numbers and travel behavior, we are down slightly over five percent compared with the situation last year. Even those visiting by car are doing so less than they did in the post-Covid period," Mürk-Dubout went on.

Tallink Grupp also operates hotels, which is seeing similar trends, Mürk-Dubout said.

"We're seeing the same trend with the hotels. There has been a slight fall in demand, and more last-minute bookings. Fortunately, there are more groups bookings, even in the hotel sector. But we are slightly below our expectations," she added.

Kaisa Mailend, CEO of Hestia Hotel Group, painted a similar picture.

She said: "There are significantly fewer tourists than last year. The booking window, the time frame for making travel decisions, has become very short. At the beginning of the month, we are very optimistic, but then we tighten our belts in the middle, and by the end, we realize that things didn't work out."

The average length of trips has become shorter, too, with most bookings being just one or two nights. Tourists are finding other ways to make savings as well.

"One interesting trend is that we may be getting fewer rooms booked up, yet there are more guests per room. This impacts on budget - whether you're alone in a room or sharing it with friends," Mailend added.

Olde Hansa, well-known restaurant in the heart of the Old Town catering mainly to tourists, reported a drop in custom too, and a more budget-conscious clientele among most of those still coming.

Tiina Jurjeva, CEO of Olde Hansa, said: "The tourist season started out almost the same as it had been last year."

"We expected a better year, but already in January, especially in February and then in March, we saw that a better year wasn't to be. Customers have been more price-sensitive. We are selling fewer of the costlier main courses. People are choosing soups and salads instead. They don't buy as much in the way of game meat. Despite all that, however, our number one dish, a bear steak, is still selling quite well," she told AK.

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