Tourism in Estonia

The land in what is known as Estonia has historically had a long tradition of seafaring and trade dating as far back as the Hanseatic League.

The history of modern tourism in Estonia dates back to the mid-19th century, when it was part of the Russian Empire. Various holiday resorts where established in the area during that time. These resorts were built primarily for the bureaucrats and wealthy of St. Petersburg, Moscow, and other Russian cities. After World War I and the October Revolution, Estonia became an independent nation in 1918. The Estonian Society Of Tourists, an organization dedicated to the promotion of domestic and international tourism in Estonia, was formed in 1920, and in 1930, the Central Management Office of Tourism was established hereafter to aid it.{{cite book |doi=10.21832/9781845414344-012 |chapter=8. Developing Estonia as a Positively Surprising Tourist Destination |title=European Tourism Planning and Organisation Systems |date=2014 |last1=Tooman |first1=Heli |last2=Müristaja |first2=Heli |pages=106–117 |isbn=978-1-84541-434-4 }}

After Estonia's incorporation into the Soviet Union, its economy went through incredible change to adapt it to the communist ideology of the Soviets. Compared to other parts of the Soviet Union, Estonia was much more developed as a result of having been independent previously, and so the Soviets made use of this to develop various high-tech industries in Estonia.{{cite journal |last1=Aun |first1=Carol |title=Economic Developments and Tourism Opportunities in Estonia |journal=Journal of Baltic Studies |date=1996 |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=95–132 |doi=10.1080/01629779600000011 |jstor=43212029 }} With the help of organizations like Intourist and substantial investment by the Soviet government, the Estonian tourism industry gradually revived. By the 1970s, Tallinn was the 5th-most popular place to visit for visitors to the Soviet Union.{{cite journal |last1=Jaakson |first1=Reiner |title=Tourism in Transition in Post-Soviet Estonia |journal=Annals of Tourism Research |date=July 1996 |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=617–634 |doi=10.1016/0160-7383(95)00113-1 }}

The Estonian tourism industry has developed rapidly since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, fuelled by the reopening of borders, the reinstatement of freedom of movement laws, and growing interest in Estonia as a tourism destination.{{Cite book|last1=L. Slocum|first1=Susan|title=Tourism Development in Post-Soviet Nations|last2=Klitsounouva|first2=Valeria|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2020|isbn=978-3-030-30715-8|pages=All}}{{Cite book|last1=Ruukel|first1=Aivar|title=Tourism Development in Post-Soviet Nations|last2=Reinmann|first2=Mart|last3=Tooman|first3=Heli|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|date=24 January 2020|isbn=978-3-030-30715-8|pages=15–29|chapter=Rural Tourism as a Tool for Sustainable Development: Lessons Learned in Estonia}} The creation of the Estonian Tourist Board in 1990 to help implement new government policies for tourism in Estonia was also another major factor in all of this. By 1995, tourism services accounted for 20% of Estonia’s total exports.{{Cite journal|last=Kallas|first=P|date=2002|title=Eesti turism 1999–2002: turismiuuringute ja sihtturgude ülevaated.|journal=Ettevõtluse Arendamise Sihtasutus|language=Estonian}} The Great Recession temporarily halted Estonian tourism growth, but since then the industry has been growing: the share of tourism had increased to 5% in the economy by 2016.{{Cite web|date=9 September 2016|title=The Estonian Economy- Tourism: can the success be sustained?|url=https://www.swedbank-research.com/english/estonian_economy/2016/september/ee_newsletter_tourism.pdf|website=Swedbank}}

Government funding for tourism is usually carried out via approval of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, and is then relayed to the Estonian Tourist Board. Tourist funding is outlined in the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP), first drawn up in 1998 as part of a wider strategy to grow the Estonian economy, along with the Tourism Act (Turismeadus) adopted in 2000. The NTDP has been continually revised; the most latest revision was in 2014.

In 1996, Estonia was divided into 4 main tourism regions: Tallinn (Old City), North (Baltic Sea), South (cultural heritage) and West (islands and coastal scenery). In the 1990s, most hotel providers were in Tallinn with 25% of all hotels and 49% of all beds.

Rural tourism in Estonia is also growing at a rapid pace, particularly among Japanese tourists.{{Cite book|last1=Hannele|first1=Suvanto|url=https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/229444|title=Japanese tourists in Finland, Estonia and Latvia – a literature review|last2=Lea|first2=Sudakova|last3=Kaili|first3=Kattai|last4=Grīnberga-Zālīte|first4=Gunta|last5=Bulderberga|first5=Zane|publisher=University of Helsinki|year=2017|isbn=978-951-51-0444-1|language=English}} In 2014, 31% of foreign tourists in Estonia were nature tourists.{{Cite journal|last=Roosild|first=Kristiina|date=2017|title=PREPAREDNESS OF ESTONIAN NATURE TOURISM COMPANIES TO OFFER THEIR SERVICES TO FOREIGN VISITORS|url=https://dspace.emu.ee/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10492/3335/Kristiina_Roosild_2017MA_LU_t%C3%A4istekst.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|journal=Estonian University of Life Sciences|pages=1–79}} Most rural tourism in Estonia are small businesses that offer accommodation, food, and holiday services.{{Cite journal|last1=T.|first1=Pliving|last2=Kull|first2=T.|last3=Suškevics|first3=M|last4=Viira|first4=A.H|date=July 2019|title=The tourism partnership life cycle in Estonia: Striving towards sustainable multisectoral rural tourism collaboration|journal=Tourism Management Perspectives|volume=31|pages=219–230|doi=10.1016/j.tmp.2019.05.001|s2cid=182722171|doi-access=free}} Like much of tourism in general, rural and nature tourism saw massive increases after Estonia's independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, along with the privatization of previously state-owned farms.{{cite journal |last1=Unwin |first1=Tim |title=Agricultural restructuring and integrated rural development in Estonia |journal=Journal of Rural Studies |date=January 1997 |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=93–112 |doi=10.1016/S0743-0167(96)00053-8 }}{{Cite book|last=Alanen|first=Ilkka|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r_dADwAAQBAJ&dq=rural+tourism+in+estonia&pg=PT8|title=Mapping the Rural Problem in the Baltic Countryside: Transition Processes in Estonia, Latvia And Lithuania|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=9781351153263}} Tourism farms are most common in the Võru County.{{Cite journal|last1=Võsu|first1=Ester|last2=Kaaristo|first2=Maarja|date=March 2009|title=An Ecological Approach to Contemporary Rural Identities: The Case of Tourism Farms in South-East Estonia|url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=113287|journal=Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics|volume=III|issue=1|pages=73–94|via=Central and Eastern European Online Library}}{{Cite journal|last1=Järv|first1=Risto|last2=Kaaristo|first2=Maarja|date=2012|title=Our Clock Moves at a Different Pace: The Timescapes of Identity in Estonian Rural Tourism|url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=292813|journal=Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore|issue=51|pages=109–132|via=Central and Eastern European Online Library}}

"Vodka tourism"{{Cite web|last=Juhani-Suttinen|first=Ville|date=18 January 2021|title=On the rocks: how vodka tourism shattered decades of Soviet-Finnish relations|url=https://www.calvertjournal.com/features/show/12438/vodka-tourism-finland-soviet-union-leningrad|website=The Calvert Journal}} is a fast-growing industry in Estonia. Estonia has had a long history of vodka manufacturing since the 1700s, and it is considered one of the traditional vodka-producing countries, along with its neighbours.{{Cite news|last=Kennedy|first=Stephanie|date=14 July 2007|title=Vodka war divides Europe|work=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-07-14/vodka-war-divides-europe/2502716}} After the introduction of a passenger ferry service between the cities of Helsinki and Tallinn in 1968, "vodka tourism" started to emerge,{{Cite journal|last=McKenzie|first=Brent|date=2016|title=Vodka Tourism in Estonia: Cultural Identity or Clearly Commerce?|url=https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1648&context=ttra|journal=Travel and Tourism Research Association|volume=70|via=University of Massachusetts Amherst}} as Finns often travelled to Estonia to get cheaper alcohol.{{cite journal |last1=Josing |first1=Marje |title=Estonian Alcohol Market and Alcohol Policy |journal=Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs |date=December 2006 |volume=23 |issue=6 |pages=482–486 |doi=10.1177/145507250602300607 }} However, many Estonians have also travelled to neighbouring countries, especially Latvia, to get even cheaper alcohol. This has cost the Estonian government around €30 million in 2017, and the Ministry of Finance has stated that if it continues, it may cause a €20 million "budget hole".{{Cite news|last=Ruuda|first=Lennart|date=30 January 2018|title=Vodka tourism damage greater than thought|work=Postimees Group|url=https://news.postimees.ee/4392665/vodka-tourism-damage-greater-than-thought}} Additionally, vodka tourism has also caused a negative reputation for Estonia as a tourism destination.{{Cite journal|last=McKenzie|first=Brent|date=2014|title=The Development of Trail Tourism: Vodka and Manor Houses in Estonia|url=https://www.seekdl.org/conferences/file/paper/20140708_071341.pdf|journal=Proc. of the Intl. Conf. On Advances in Social Science, Economics and Management Study|pages=1–2}}

Due to safety and quarantine measures enacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the decrease in flow of tourists from China was said to have impacted Estonian tourism, despite Chinese visitors counting only 1% of all international tourists in Estonia.{{Cite web|last=Wright|first=Helen|date=3 March 2021|title=Coronavirus outbreak to impact Estonian tourism sector in 2020|url=https://news.err.ee/1059306/coronavirus-outbreak-to-impact-estonian-tourism-sector-in-2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927021738/https://news.err.ee/1059306/coronavirus-outbreak-to-impact-estonian-tourism-sector-in-2020|archive-date=27 September 2021|website=Eesti Rahvusringhääling}} On 27 September 2021, the Estonian government announced new regulations for travellers entering it: only travellers from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Vatican City were allowed to enter without any restrictions.{{Cite news|date=25 September 2021|title=Travel restrictions for arrivals to Estonia from September 27|work=Eesti Rahvusringhääling|url=https://news.err.ee/1608350543/travel-restrictions-for-arrivals-to-estonia-from-september-27}}

• Culture of Estonia
• Transport in Estonia

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Estonia