June accommodated tourist numbers up eight percent on year
According to information released by Statistics Estonia on Friday, 372,000 domestic and foreign tourists stayed at Estonian accommodation establishments this June, up eight percent from the same month last year.
238,000 foreign tourists and 135,000 domestic tourists used the services of accommodation establishments; their numbers increased six and ten percent, respectively, compared to June of the previous year.
52 percent of foreign tourists who used accommodation services came from neighboring countries — 92,000 tourists came from Finland, 16,000 from Russia and 14,000 from Latvia. Compared to June 2016, the number of tourists from neighboring countries decreased by two percent. The number of Finnish tourists in accommodation establishments fell by five percent, however the number of Russian and Latvian tourists increased by nine and six percent on year, respectively.
Compared to June 2016, there was an increase in the number of tourists arriving from Sweden, the United Kingdom and France, while fewer tourists arrived from Lithuania, the United States and Italy. 155,000 foreign tourists, i.e 65 percent of the foreign tourists who used accommodation services, stayed in the accommodation establishments of Tallinn. The second most popular destination was Pärnu, accounting for 11 percent of all accommodated foreign tourists, followed by Tartu, which accounted for seven percent of accommodated foreign tourists. Saare County accounted for another four and Ida-Viru County three percent of foreign tourists utilizing accommodation services. 76 percent of foreign tourists were visiting Estonia on vacation, while 18 percent were traveling for business.
36 percent of the customers of accommodation establishments were domestic tourists, two-thirds of whom were on vacation and one-fifth of whom were traveling for business. 24 percent of accommodated domestic tourists tayed in Harju County, including Tallinn, 14 percent in Pärnu County, 11 percent in Tartu County, nine percent in Ida-Viru County and eight percent in Saare County.
This June, a total of 1,340 accommodation establishments offered services for tourists. 23,000 rooms and 56,000 beds were available for tourists. Compared to the same month last year, there were 49 additional accommodation establishments with an additional 1,000 rooms and 2,500 beds. 51 percent of rooms and 41 percent of beds were occupied. The nationwide average cost of a guest night was €39, an increase of €4 on year. The average cost of a guest night was €48 in Harju County, €36 in Pärnu County, €33 in Tartu County, €28 in Saare County and €27 in Ida-Viru County.
Editor: Aili Vahtla