Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
reflect the region's reintegration into Europe
(Worthington, 2001, 2004).
The ferry link to Tallinn from Helsinki had
been the lifeline of Estonian tourism since the
1960s and in the period post-1991 it almost
threatened to overwhelm Tallinn with Finns. This
led some guidebooks to describe the capital as
a 'virtual suburb' of Helsinki (Williams
et al
.,
2000). The number of Finnish visitors increased
from an estimated 120,000 in 1985 (personal
communication from O. Sööt, Director of
Intourist,
Estonia (1966-1991)) to 1.52m in
1995 when they accounted for 72% of all foreign
arrivals to Estonia. Most of this increase can be
attributed to same-day visitors and can be
explained by the close proximity of Helsinki, the
linguistic and cultural links, and by the economic
incentive of cross-border trade (Unwin, 1996).
Tallinn quickly became an established shop-
ping destination for Finns where, after taking a
short ferry ride, they could purchase Western
goods at a heavily discounted rate in comparison
to Helsinki. This led to the fact that by 1994 up to
40% of all retail purchases in the Estonian capital
were attributed to them (Worthington, 2001).
Most importantly, the arrival of large num-
bers of foreigners acted as a stimulant in the early
years of independence for entrepreneurs to gen-
erate employment and foreign exchange earnings
either independently or with the assistance of a
Western partner (primarily Scandinavians and
Finns). Additional benefits with Finnish partner
involvement in tourism included adoption of
Western business ethics and managerial knowl-
edge, such as in the spa industry in Estonia. As
Worthington (2001) argues, this in turn acted as
a stimulant in the overall transition process, and
possibly even the catalyst. His thesis here is
based on the premise that those economies with
a larger service sector directed at the inter-
national market attracted higher levels of for-
eign investment and thus achieved a greater
rate of progress in the transition process.
Fig. 13.2.
1960s tourist guide to Tallinn.
including the servicing of the ferry traffic by the
provision of guided tours, excursions, folk enter-
tainment and meals (Worthington, 2001). This
also encouraged the establishment of tourism
organizations such as the Estonian Association
of
Travel
Agents
in
April
1990
(Estonian
Association of Travel Agents, 2005).
The Transition Era 1991-1994
The importance of tourism as a stimulation
agent in the transition process has been pro-
posed by a number of researchers. Hall (2001)
argues that theoretically tourism as an industry
was integral to post-Communist regional eco-
nomic restructuring and the transition process
as a whole. Worthington (2001) builds on these
arguments by adding that tourism in common
with the rest of the entrepreneurial service sec-
tor is not capital intensive, employs large num-
bers of workers, attracts foreign investment and
produces results within a remarkably short time
frame. Additionally, in the case of Estonia, it
would provide the model for the transformation
of an industry exposed to market forces and
The Road to the European Union:
Estonian Tourism 1995-2003
In November 1995, Estonia submitted its appli-
cation to accede to the European Union and
since then a steady market reorientation has
occurred, as can be clearly seen from Table 13.2.
