The figure rose for both domestic and foreign tourists, the agency reports.

In May, 163,000 foreign and 130,000 domestic tourists were accommodated in Estonia, a rise of 16 percent and 5 percent respectively, compared with May 2023.

Commenting on the results, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia Helga Laurmaa said: "On a positive note, the number of domestic tourists in May was 18 percent higher than in May 2019," referring to the last pre-pandemic year.

Laurmaa noted however that in May, the number of foreign tourists increased on year, but was still 23 percent lower than the May 2019 figure – increased domestic tourism was a feature of the peak pandemic years.

Neighboring countries contributed the most significant numbers of tourists in May, with nearly 62,000 coming from Finland, 19,000 from Latvia – the latter figure representing a 5 percent rise on year.

Other significant countries of origin were: Germany (11,000, up 50 percent on year), Lithuania (7,000), Sweden and Poland (both 4,500 tourists in May, with Poland's figure up 6 percent on year, though Sweden's number fell by 2 percent over the same period).

Other countries of origin to have seen a significant upswing in visitors to Estonia included the U.K., whose figure was up 20 percent on year to May, Statistics Estonia reports.

As for purpose of visit, around 75 percent of foreign tourists said they were on vacation, with much of the remainder (19 percent) on business.

The proportions were similar in the case of domestic tourists: Sixty-nine percent reported being on vacation in May, compared with 23 percent who said they were traveling on business.

The majority of foreign tourists (72 percent of the total) made their overnight stays in Harju County, including Tallinn, followed by Estonia's summer capital, Pärnu (where 11 percent stayed), the second city Tartu (7 percent), the largest island, Saaremaa (3 percent), and Ida-Viru County (2 percent).

The story was similar with domestic tourists, save for a lower emphasis on Harju County, where 32 percent of the total tourists stayed in May.

This was followed by Pärnu (14 percent of domestic tourists), Tartu (11 percent), Ida-Viru County (9 percent) and Saaremaa/Muhu (7 percent).

Occupancy rates and room rates

Tourists spent a total of 542,900 nights in Estonia's accommodation establishments in May.

Domestic tourists stayed for 222,400 nights and foreign tourists for 320,500 nights in total.

A total of 1,038 businesses served visitors in Estonia, across 22,000 rooms with 52,000 bed places available for guests.

Room occupancy ran at 47 percent.

The average cost of a guest night was €49 per person, unchanged on year but 14 percent higher than in May 2019, the last pre-crisis year.

Harju County was costliest at €55 per person per night on average, followed by €52 per person in Tartu County.

Ida-Viru County (€44 per person per night on average), Pärnu County (€42 per person) and Saaremaa (€37 per person) offered somewhat cheaper room rates in May.

More detailed information from Statistics Estonia is available here, here and here.

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