Otepää once again named winter capital of Estonia
On the first day of winter, the Southern Estonian city of Otepää was once again named the winter capital of the country. While spring and fall can be challenging for local businesses, winter is when Otepää truly shines.
The winter season is a major draw for local tourism, and despite recent milder weather, the area's ski and sledding trails are prepped with artificial snow in time for the holidays.
This year marks Otepää's 28th as the winter capital of Estonia, and local tourism businesses are reporting no shortage of visitors.
While the city sees its peak tourist season over the winter, these businesses have to figure out whether and what services to provide during the quieter spring and fall months.
Ugandi Hotel and Otepää Winterplace owner Siim Kalda explained that providing high-quality service year-round is essentially impossible outside major cities.
"For us, it's about trying to break even by the end of the year," Kalda admitted. "Anything left over, we try to reinvest. It's more of a lifestyle; you don't make any big bucks here. Clearly, the past few years have been very turbulent. Ever since [the] COVID-19 [pandemic] began five years ago, we've been in a centrifuge all this time."
A lack of snow hikes up operation costs for winter tourism providers. According to the winter park owner, artificial snow production has cost them more than €10,000 this season already.
The nearby Tehvandi Sports Center also has artificial snow down on its trails, which are seeing significant traffic ahead of major skiing competitions.
Despite the economic downturn, Tehvandi has seen no decrease in visitor numbers.
"Since we have major competitions coming up next year, and during the two years after that, we've actually noticed a strong interest in coming here, particularly for training camps in preparation for these major events," said Merlin Müür, marketing manager at the Tehvandi Sports Center Foundation.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, significantly impacted tourism in Southern Estonia. At least in Otepää, however, businesses have managed to replace their Russian tourist numbers.
"Thanks to the fact that the athletes from the east disappeared, a lot of our southern neighbors – Latvians and Lithuanians – and Finns are taking advantage," Müür noted. "Fortunately, the war hasn't left us with a gap here."
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Editor: Valner Väino, Aili Vahtla
