A recent survey commissioned by a Finnish merchants association finds that over 80 percent of Finnish tourists bought alcohol and 58 percent bought sweets while visiting in Estonia in 2012.
Last year, Finnish citizens spent 501 million euros in Estonia, a record that exceeded the 2011 figure by 8 percent, reported Finnish broadcaster YLE.
The merchants association says trips from Finland to Estonia are at a record-breaking high. Around 20 percent of southern Finns visited Estonia at least twice last year.
Half of the survey's respondents cited low prices as an important reason for undertaking the trip to Estonia. Often referred to as the 'vodka rally' by the Estonian media, nearly a quarter of all alcohol purchased locally by Finns is loaded onto vehicles and then ferried away to Finland.
Now, according to the survey, Finns have developed a sweet tooth as well, apparently due to a Finnish excise tax on sweets, ice cream and soft drinks. The association said there is a correlation between rises in the Finnish consumption tax and the volume of goods consumed in Estonia by Finns.
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