Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 13.6.
Estonia: number of overnights for visitor arrivals, 2004 (staying in paid accommodation
including health spas).
Overnights by country of residence
Growth 2004/2003
Country of residence
2003
2004
Nos
%
Finland
1,411,623
1,664,799
253,176
18
Sweden
134,189
184,871
50,682
38
Germany
122,189
163,842
41,653
34
Russia
81,321
101,546
20,225
25
Latvia
42,682
59,532
16,850
39
UK
73,060
94,843
21,783
30
Norway
61,381
81,288
19,907
32
Italy
28,200
52,507
24,307
86
Lithuania
22,977
32,068
9,091
40
USA
30,254
44,492
14,238
47
France
15,350
28,962
13,612
89
Denmark
26,008
28,510
2,502
10
Spain
13,631
21,878
8,247
61
The Netherlands
16,094
21,698
5,604
35
Japan
12,648
14,174
1,526
12
Austria
6,420
10,620
4,200
65
Switzerland
7,059
8,905
1,846
26
Czech Republic, Slovakia
5,025
10,255
5,230
104
Hungary
3,877
4,844
967
25
Canada
4,254
7,245
2,991
70
Total foreign visitors
2,267,873
2,746,806
478,933
21
Source:
Enterprise Estonia/Estonian Tourist Board, 2005.
spa tourists (mainly in Pärnu and near Tallinn)
account for a quarter of the increase. In total,
spas accounted for 19% of Finnish tourists and
44% of Finnish overnights at all accommoda-
tion establishments in 2004 (Enterprise Estonia/
Estonian Tourist Board, 2005).
The number of Swedish tourists in 2004
showed a substantially larger increase of 33%, in
comparison to the average growth rate of around
8% in previous years. The growth in Swedish visi-
tors occurred mainly in Tallinn and the resort
town Pärnu (in the latter due to increasing popu-
larity of spa holidays). In 2004, spas accounted
for 35% of Swedish overnights at Estonian
accommodation establishments (compared with
26% in the respective period of 2003) (Enter-
prise Estonia/Estonian Tourist Board, 2005).
Tourist arrivals from Germany continued to
increase at a similar rate as they had done in the
past few years (20% in 2002; 30% in 2003 and
2004). In addition to the increasingly popular
touring holidays in the Baltics (in the summer
season), also the number of Germans' off-season
city breaks to Tallinn increased substantially,
apparently thanks to additional flights from
Germany to Tallinn and the lower prices offered
by airlines (Enterprise Estonia/Estonian Tourist
Board, 2005). After a decline in 2003, tourist
arrivals from Latvia soared in 2004, exceeding
considerably also the 2002 result. This was mainly
brought about by simplified border crossing
regulations after joining the EU, which stimulated
touring in Estonia by car and led to an increase in
Latvian overnights especially outside Tallinn
(Enterprise Estonia/Estonian Tourist Board, 2005).
Impacts of European Union
Membership
From examining the statistical evidence it is
clear that the Estonian tourism industry is in a
