Estonian Trips Carried Out in 2022 Close to 2017 Levels
Travelling among Estonian residents is recovering this year, as the number of international trips increased by 319 per cent – over three times in the second quarter of the year, compared to the corresponding time last year.
According to Baltic News Network, the number of domestic trips has also jumped by 45 per cent during this period. In addition, residents of Estonia spent 1.4 million nights on domestic trips and a total of 1.8 million nights on international trips, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
On the other hand, 2018 and 2019 were the busiest years for travelling in the last decade, as Epp Remmelg, an analyst at Statistics Estonia, pointed out.
The number of trips recorded during the second quarter of 2022 corresponded with two-thirds of the number of international trips made during 2018-2019, which represent the peak period of travelling. In addition, more international trips were recorded compared to the second quarter of 2019.
The number of business trips and visits to friends, as the purpose for travelling, decreased significantly during the pandemic and is only now seeing a recovery. During April, May and June, 57,000 international business trips were recorded, close to 2017 levels.
“There has been a sharp upturn in the number of trips made by Estonian residents to visit friends and family abroad, which they had postponed for years. In the second quarter, Estonian residents spent a total of 515 000 nights abroad staying with friends or relatives, which is virtually the same as in the second quarter of 2019,” Remmelg noted.
Furthermore, the average expenditure on an outbound overnight trip stood at €944 per person – a quarter higher than in 2019.
Just like in the previous years, many people in Estonia travel to neighbouring countries, mostly to Latvia, with 34,000 trips, Finland (29,000) and Sweden (23,000). Italy and Turkey are also growing as popular destinations among Estonians, while travelling to Russia have stopped almost completely.
In addition, international trips with one to three overnight stays are bounding back, reaching 115,000 in the second quarter – seven times more than in the corresponding time in 2021.
As per Estonian residents, those made 684,000 overnight trips within the country, with 347,000 of those being holiday trips, while 250,000 trips were visits to family and friends and 63,000 trips were business-related.
“In the second quarter, the number of domestic trips was primarily boosted by visits to friends and relatives (which doubled), and by the steady rise in the number of business trips. Compared with the pre–pandemic period, almost every second domestic business trip took place now,” Remmelg added.
About 89 per cent of overnight domestic trips were short, with up to three nights spent abroad. A tenth of domestic trips, in addition, lasted for 47 days.
