Estonian residents made a total of 1.5 million outbound overnight trips in 2025, a 3% decline on the previous year, according to preliminary data from Statistics Estonia.
Domestic overnight trips dropped more sharply, meanwhile, to nearly 3.1 million – a decline of 12%.
“Last year, the number of overnight domestic trips was still more than two times bigger than the number of outbound trips,” commented Piret Pukk, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia. “Compared with 2024, the number of domestic trips decreased in each quarter. The number of outbound trips declined for three quarters and then started to rise again in the fourth quarter.”
Pukk attributed this rebound to a rise in charter flights from Tallinn Airport.
Destinations
European Union destinations remained the most popular among outbound travellers from Estonia, with 1.1 million trips (72%) taken to EU countries. Finland, Latvia, and Spain were the top destinations, while Turkey led non-EU destinations with 6% of trips.
In terms of the top domestic destinations, meanwhile, Harju County (including Tallinn), Tartu County, and Pärnu County attracted the most visitors, followed by Ida-Viru, Saare, Lääne, Lääne-Viru, and Viljandi.
Holiday trips continued to dominate, accounting for 54% of domestic trips and 64% of outbound trips, while business trips represented 13% and 19% of domestic and outbound travel, respectively.
“Overnight domestic trips are usually short, lasting for just a few days, and outbound trips tend to be longer,” Pukk added. “91% of overnight domestic trips were for one to three nights. Only 9% of domestic trips lasted longer. In the case of outbound trips, 37% of these were for one to three nights and 39% were for four to seven nights.”
Spending patterns
Spending patterns showed that Estonians favoured rented accommodation abroad, with 79% of nights spent in hotels or other rented properties. Conversely, domestic trips were more likely to involve non-rented accommodation, such as staying with family or at holiday homes, representing 58% of all domestic nights.
Average expenditures reflected these trends. Outbound trips cost an average of €1,118, up 1% from 2024, while domestic trips averaged €163, a 12% decrease. Transport accounted for the largest share of outbound spending (36%), followed by accommodation (30%), food and drinks (21%), and other expenses including entertainment and shopping (13%).
For domestic trips, accommodation and food each represented 30% and 29% of costs, respectively, with transport at 25% and other expenses at 15%. Read more here.
