More Estonians are traveling around their own country on more than just day trips, statistics for last year revealed.
Pitching a domestic tourism booth at the 20th Tourest trade fair taking place in Tallinn February 18 to 20, Estonian Tourist Board director Tarmo Mutso said that the downturn is now over in the domestic tourism.
"After a drop in 2009, domestic tourism has been rising again since April of last year," he said.
A total of 838,000 homeland tourists stayed in Estonian accommodation providers in 2010, which is 9 percent more than the year before; the number of overnight stays grew 8 percent and reached the 1.5 million mark.
The first quarter of 2010 saw a 2 percent drop year on year, but numbers began rising in subsequent quarters, showing a 16-percent growth by Q4. Last year's total was 15 percent less than the all-time record in 2007.
In central Rapla County and forested Lääne-Viru County, however, the number of overnight stays outstripped the boom peak. The most popular destinations continue to be Tallinn, Ida-Viru County, Pärnu, Saaremaa, Tartu, Valga County and Lääne-Viru County.
Besides offering diversified and enhanced "products," Mutso said, companies in the sector have slashed prices.
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