Managers of spas in Pärnu, Estonia's beach-side summer capital, told Monday's "Aktuaalne kaamera" about the situation in their venues next week.

Andrus Aljas, head of Estonia Spa Hotels, said facilities are filling up. "At the beginning of the break, there are still rooms available, but the weekend is practically fully booked," he noted.

Aljas said occupancy is at a similar level to February last year. This is also affect by the timing of Latvia's school break.

"Since Latvian customers are becoming increasingly important in Pärnu, this definitely has an impact. In the autumn, the school breaks were synchronized, which led to higher demand. Now, Estonia's school break is earlier, while Latvia's will be in March. As a result, demand is somewhat weaker," he explained.

Viiking Spa Hotel manager Kairi Lusik said while the hotel is not fully booked, the situation is not worse than last year.

"Bookings for next week are still coming in. People tend to make reservations at the last minute. However, the February school holiday has never been as popular as October's, likely because after a long dark winter, people crave warmth, sunshine, and higher temperatures," Lusik said.

Indrek Ilves, head of Wasa Resort Spa, noted that interest is higher than last year.

"It seems there are more interested guests compared to the same time last year. We are looking forward to the school break and are trying to offer an engaging program. It appears that this is an important selection criterion as well — it seems to us that children should also have activities to enjoy during their school break," he explained.

Managers said the VAT increase has not yet affected prices.

"We have not been able to incorporate the VAT hike into prices at the start of the year, meaning we haven't raised rates. Right now, prices remain at last year's level, which means accommodation providers are left with less revenue," Aljas said.

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