Tourist Profile Changes, Spending Increases

According to figures from the Bank of Estonia, foreign tourists spent nearly one billion euros in the country last year, an increase of 6 percent, but visitor numbers from EU states dropped, replaced by more guests from Russia.

In 2012, foreign tourists parted with 947 million euros in Estonia, while tourists from Estonia shelled out 607 million euros abroad.

While 2011 saw surge in visitors when Tallinn was the European Capital of Culture, 7 percent fewer tourists from EU member states visited Estonia last year. The void was filled by Russians and tourists from other CIS nations, whose numbers grew by 31 and 27 percent, respectively.

The country racked up a total of 5.3 million visits over the year, up 0.5 percent compared with 2011.

The number of visits by Estonian residents to foreign countries grew 2 percent compared with 2011, totaling 3.8 million visits. Of those, 2.9 million trips were made to EU countries, followed by visits to Russia, which numbered 424,000.