Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
from Latvia, the number of foreign visitors grew
by more than 20% (i.e. from 2.47m in 2003 to
3.033m in 2004), a remarkable growth of more
than half a million visitors (Latvijai Statistika,
2005) (see also Chapter 14).
In order to examine to what extent the EU
accession of the Baltic States has influenced tour-
ism flows, a comparison of the development in
Finland and the Baltic countries is presented in
Table 12.1. As comparable data for Latvia were
not available to the authors, the comparison is
limited to Finland, Estonia and Lithuania for
2001-2004.
Finland's share of all foreign overnights
among these three countries has diminished
from 58.4% in 2001 to 50.8% in 2004. Of all
these countries, Estonia has had the best growth
of 43.7% from 2001 to 2004, while the overall
growth for these countries was 21.1%, which
was the result of very positive development in
the Baltic countries.
Foreign tourism in Estonia is more or less
dependent on Finnish guests, which are in a
very dominant role, as they represent over 60%
of all foreign overnights. Of the total growth of
approximately 480,000 overnights in 2004, the
majority still come from Finland. The biggest
absolute growth after Finland comes from
Sweden and Germany. The most important
foreign markets for Lithuania are Germany
(18.7%), Poland (13.7%), Belarus (12%) and
Russia (8.8%).
To obtain a more precise comparison
between Finland and the two Baltic countries,
the development of foreign overnights are com-
pared according to the most important foreign
markets (Sweden, Russia, Germany, the UK,
France, Italy, Denmark and the USA), which
are common for all these countries (Table 12.2).
For the markets described above, Finland
showed an overall decrease of 1.2% in 2004.
By contrast, Estonia experienced 37% growth
and Lithuania 42.8%. Estonia and Lithuania
combined had about 700,000 overnights from
the above-mentioned countries, whilst the cor-
responding figure for Finland was about 2.8m.
Although Finland is still the market leader
in relation to the Baltics for the Russian market,
the Baltic countries can now be seen as compet-
itors. In the Swedish market, Estonia improved
its overnight figures by 37.8% and Lithuania
by 19.6%, while in Finland there was a decline
of 4.2%. Finland had a decrease of 0.8% in
German overnights, while at the same time in
Estonia the growth was 34.1% and in Lithuania
45.8%. Finland has strong winter attractions for
French and Italian tourists, and these should
help to maintain Finland's competitive advantage
against the Baltic countries in the future.
Finland and the Baltic Countries as
Tourist Destinations
In order to better understand the competitive
position of Finland as a tourism destination in
relation to the Baltic countries, a short summary
of research undertaken on the induced images
of Finland and the Baltic countries is now pre-
sented. An induced image is derived from a
conscious effort towards tourism promotion
directed by tourism organizations (see e.g. Gunn,
1972). A content analysis conducted on travel
brochures of Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and
Finnish national tourist boards showed some
differences and similarities in the images of
these countries (the brochures from Latvia and
Lithuania concerned only summer tourism).
In the Estonian brochures, nature was
emphasized. In the winter brochure ( Nordic
with a Twist ), most illustrations were of natural
scenery and forests. This brochure seemed to be
targeted at people looking for peace and quiet.
In addition, both summer ( Explore Estonia ) and
winter activities described in Estonian brochures
were outdoor ones taking place in nature. Fur-
ther, the summer brochure emphasized experi-
ences of unspoilt beaches, the countryside, small
villages on the islands and forests. Both brochures
also strongly promoted the history and architec-
ture of Estonia. Especially in the summer bro-
chure, mansions and castles, medieval churches,
ruins of castles, museums and even cemeteries
were illustrated. The nightlife in Tallinn and Tartu
was advertised as being sophisticated and versa-
tile. In the winter brochure, the focus was on the
advantages of Estonia as a tourist destination,
and notably accessibility (see Chapter 13).
The emphasis in the Latvian brochure
( Latvia Discover ) was on the history, culture and
traditions of Latvia. Latvian history was promoted
in pictures from castles and palaces, as well as
in stories of Latvian royalty. The cultural side
of Latvia was pointed out by the presentations
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