Finns’ interest in travelling to Estonia surveyed
Visit Estonia surveyed Finns’ interest in travelling to Estonia. The survey took place in November 2023. Invitations to participate were sent to members of an online panel representing the Finnish population (aged 18-79) according to their socio-demographic profile. The final sample (N=1207) was made up of those who answered in the filter question that they were planning to take a holiday abroad in the next 3-4 years (they answered the rest of the questionnaire).
The presentation (88 slides) is available at: https://www.puhkaeestis.ee/et/turismiprofessionaalile/uuringud-ja-statistika/turismiuuringud-valisriikides.
Investigated:
– previous experience of Finnish residents travelling to Estonia (duration, frequency and places visited);
– interest in coming to Estonia in the near future (including travel timing, length of trips, destinations, travel arrangements, preferences for leisure activities and information sources, and the importance of environmentally friendly choices);
– reasons for being interested or not interested in travelling to Estonia, including outside Tallinn;
– Estonia’s image as a holiday destination.
SOME OF THE KEY FINDINGS:
– More than half of the respondents have been to Estonia at least 6 times (including 1/3 of respondents more than 10 times), 22% have been 3-5 times, 1/5 have been 1-2 times and only 6% have never been to Estonia. As people with higher incomes tend to travel more, they have also visited Estonia more often (e.g. 2/3 of respondents with incomes above 4000€ have visited Estonia at least 6 times).
– 35% of respondents had last visited Estonia in the last 12 months, 21% 1-2 years ago – meaning that over half (56%) had been here in the last 2 years. ¼ last visited 3-5 years ago and 14% more recently.
– 71% of respondents are planning to visit Estonia for leisure in the next year (including 1/3 will make their next trip this winter or spring and 1/5 this summer). In addition, 1/5 are planning to make their next trip to Estonia sometime in the near future, but do not yet know the exact time. Only 1 in 10 do not plan to travel to Estonia in the near future. Of those who have visited Estonia more than 10 times, 85% plan to come this year, with 55% planning to come this winter or spring. However, 1 in 5 of those who have never been to Estonia think it is likely that they will visit this year.
– Restaurants (58% of respondents said they were important), cultural or sporting events (56%), shopping opportunities (50%), architecture (48%) and spa services (46%) are the most popular attractions in Estonia. Those who would come to Estonia for just one day mentioned 4-5 important activities on average, with shopping being the top activity. However, those who came for several days mentioned on average 5-7 important activities, the most important being restaurants, architecture and events.
– The most important sources of information when planning a trip to Estonia were ferry companies and their websites (45% of respondents), previous trips to Estonia (33%), visitestonia.com (32%) and travel companies, including their websites (30%). The longer the trip, the more important the website visitestonia.com, the websites of the cities/regions and the Facebook page “Discover Estonia, Visit Estonia”.
– All respondents (including those not planning to travel to Estonia in the near future) were asked to rate 14 statements on a 5-point scale. In general, the ratings are positive for all statements, with only a few per cent giving negative ratings for almost all statements. Most respondents (87%) agreed that it is easy to travel to Estonia. 70-80% of respondents agreed that Finnish tourists are welcome in Estonia, that tourist information in Estonia is easy to find, that Estonia offers interesting sights and activities, that travelling in Estonia is safe and that the value for money of restaurants in Estonia is good.
– Finally, respondents were given the opportunity to answer an open-ended question on what should be improved in tourism and services in Estonia. Half of the remaining respondents answered. The highest number of comments was about rude customer service, cited by 15% of those who visited Estonia. 4% mentioned unfriendliness of people (including service staff). 5% wrote comments about prices (both about the general price increase and that in certain places the price level is out of place and does not match the service). 4% wanted more information or publicity about services, attractions and events.
For more information on the survey, please visit: Piret Kallas, EAS and KredEx Joint Agency Tourism Department, Research Coordinator, piret.kallas@eas.ee.
