Record number of visitors could stay in Tartu when it serves as the Capital of Culture
Tartu City Government Press Release
13 February / According to Statistics Estonia, Tartu hosted 27% more visitors last year than the year before. In total, nearly 255,000 visitors were accommodated in Tartu, which is the best result in the last three years.
A total of 254,367 visitors stayed in accommodation establishments in Tartu in 2022, of which 170,438 were from Estonia and 83,929 from abroad. Compared to 2021, the number of foreign visitors has almost doubled, with the highest numbers of lodgers hailing from Latvia (25,338) and Finland (21,885). While the number of visitors from Latvia has reached the same level as in 2019, the number of Finnish tourists visiting Tartu is nearly half. Tartu County, as a whole, accommodated 279,415 visitors.
In total, visitors stayed in accommodation establishments in the city of Tartu for 397,752 nights, and in Tartu County for 455,084 nights. The average number of nights stayed in Tartu was 1.5, and the occupancy rate was 57%.
‘Although the tourism sector has grown considerably in Estonia, the biggest challenge facing Tartu and other Southern Estonian counties is to attract foreign visitors to venture outside the capital. Last year, 6% of all foreign visitors came to Tartu. By the end of the Capital of Culture year, our goal is to increase this to at least 10%,’ said Annika Ojasaar, Head of the Tartu County Tourism Foundation.
In 2024, Tartu, together with Southern Estonia, will be the European Capital of Culture, bringing the region into the focus of both domestic and international tourists. ‘The diverse and year-round programme of the Capital of Culture is certainly an additional incentive to visit Tartu and Southern Estonia. Tartu 2024 is marketing its programme and activities primarily to the Latvian, Finnish, Lithuanian, German and UK markets,’ explained Marika Goldman, Marketing Manager of Tartu 2024.
Accommodation statistics are available on the website of Statistics Estonia.
Additional information: Annika Ojasaar, Head of the Tartu County Tourism Foundation, [email protected]
Last changed 13.02.2023
