Estonia's accommodated tourist numbers down 9 percent in March

Accommodation establishments in Estonia served a total of 217,000 tourists this March — down 9 percent on year, including a 7 percent drop in foreign tourists and an 11 percent drop in domestic tourists, Statistics Estonia said Thursday.
This March, 108,000 foreign and 109,000 domestic tourists were accommodated in the country, Statistics Estonia lead analyst Helga Laurmaa said according to a press release.
"The number of foreign tourists was 7 percent lower than in March last year — and it was also smaller compared with March 2019, down by 13 percent," Laurmaa noted.
Similarly to other months at the start of the year, Estonia's accommodation establishments served more domestic than foreign tourists in March.
The analyst noted that while down 11 percent on year, the number of domestic tourists accommodated in March reached the same level as in March 2019, before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This March, nearly 36,000 tourists arrived from Finland, representing a third of all accommodated foreign tourists. Estonia's accommodation establishments also hosted 24,000 tourists from Latvia (22 percent), over 5,000 tourists from Germany (4 percent) and 3,300 tourists from Sweden (3 percent).
On year, accommodated tourist numbers fell from Finland (19 percent), Latvia (3 percent) and the U.K. (8 percent), but rose from Germany and Sweden.
Overall, 77 percent of foreign tourists accommodated in March were traveling for leisure and 18 percent for business.
Of foreign tourists, who spent a total of 214,000 nights in Estonia, 72 percent stayed at accommodation establishments in Harju County, followed by Pärnu County (14 percent), Tartu County (7 percent) and Ida-Viru County (2 percent). Lääne, Lääne-Viru, Saare, Valga and Võru counties each accommodated 1 percent of foreign tourists that month.
Domestic tourists, meanwhile, spent a total of 219,000 nights at accommodation establishments across Estonia, with 72 percent traveling for leisure and 20 percent for business.
Harju County most popular destination
The largest share of domestic tourists, 34 percent, was accommodated in Harju County, followed by Pärnu County (13 percent), Tartu County (12 percent) and Ida-Viru County (11 percent).
Lääne, Lääne-Viru, Saare and Valga counties each accommodated 5 percent of Estonia's domestic tourists.
In all, tourists spent a total of 395,000 nights in Estonian accommodation establishments in March.
That month, 905 accommodation establishments were open for tourists, with 21,000 rooms and nearly 49,000 bed places available, and a room occupancy rate of 37 percent.
The average cost of a guest night in March 2025 was €45 per person, up 7 percent on year and 25 percent compared with March 2019.
The average cost of an overnight stay per person was €51 in Lääne-Viru County, €48 in Harju County, €44 in Tartu County, €42 in ida-Viru County, €42 in Lääne County and €38 in Pärnu County.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla