Tourists increasingly choosing Tallinn over rest of Estonia
Foreign tourists are increasingly focusing trips to Estonia on Tallinn, with the capital setting a July tourism record as other destinations lag behind pre-pandemic levels.
Some 964,000 tourists stayed in accommodation establishments across Estonia in July, compared with more than 1 million in July 2019. Tallinn, however, set a record with 455,000 overnight stays, up from 399,000 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Outside the capital, the recovery has been weaker. The number of tourists staying around Tallinn is still about 20 percent below 2019 levels.
"Tallinn stands out the most," said SEB economic analyst Mihkel Nestor. He said tourism depends heavily on how aware foreign visitors are of destinations beyond the capital.
Many may even simply see it as one of several capital cities in the region, he added, "So they'll say, 'Okay, let's visit Tallinn then too.' Getting tourists to venture beyond Tallinn has always been a challenge."
One in three tourists are Finns
Finns accounted for about a third of all tourists in Tallinn this July, with Finnish tourist numbers up by more than 20,000 on year to total 145,000.
"Finns have started traveling to Tallinn more than ever before," said Harles Tammeleht, general manager of Mercure Tallinn and the Oru Hub Handwritten Collection.
He noted, however, that their numbers have fallen elsewhere, both in the rest of Harju County "and in places like Pärnu and Kuressaare, which once relied heavily on the Finnish market."
Nestor said the shift is partly linked to Finland's economic situation.
"Tourism has started to pick up a bit again there too, and Finns are traveling abroad more," he explained, but high unemployment continues to limit spending. "When one in ten people there are unemployed, travel isn't exactly very reasonable."
'It's close and it's nice'
Tammeleht also pointed to demographic changes. While traditionally popular spa tourism to places like Pärnu and Saaremaa continues to decline, he said, younger generations have different travel preferences.
Finnish visitors typically say for one or two nights, with entertainment, leisure and cheaper alcohol among the main draws.
"We sing in a chorus, and we had a full day here — actually two days," said Minna and Erika, two ferry passengers at the Port of Tallinn who had been in town for choir practice.
"Drinks," said Tumppi, who made the trip across the Gulf of Finland to stock up on alcohol.
Kira, meanwhile, was in Tallinn with friends to celebrate their birthdays. "We stayed for one night, because we all turned 40," she said. "It's close and it's nice."
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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Aili Vahtla
