* In May the number of foreign tourists staying in Estonian accommodation establishments dropped by 8,000 compared to the same month last year, with declines recorded in the number of both Finnish and Russian tourists, the Statistical Office reports.
Compared to May 2006, fewer tourists arrived from the main partner countries of the Estonian tourism sector -- Finland, Sweden and Germany. At the same time the number of tourists from other neighboring countries -- Latvia, Lithuania and Norway -- increased.
The number of tourists from Finland, the principal partner of Estonian accommodation establishments, showed a continued downtrend. Compared to May 2006, the number of Finnish tourists decreased by 10 percent. The share of Finnish tourists in accommodation establishments is large -- more than half of foreign visitors come from Finland.
The number of accommodated tourists from Russia dropped in May to 2,900, down by one-third compared to the same month last year. The number of Russian tourists had not fallen below 3,000 since October 2004, the Statistical Office observed. Russian tourists do not form a large part of customers of accommodation establishments in Estonia, accounting for 2-3 percent of the overall number of foreign visitors in summer months.
In May 130,000 foreign tourists and 67,000 Estonian residents stayed in accommodation establishments.
In May 769 accommodation establishments with 17,000 rooms and 35,000 beds were available for tourists. The average cost of a guest night in an accommodation establishment was 544 kroons (EUR 35). The cost of a guest night was the highest in the capital city Tallinn at 690 kroons.
Tallinn newsroom, +372 610 8829, majandus@bns.ee
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