Client: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications
Period: 2024
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications is developing a long-term perspective for tourism, a strategy for tourism development over an extended period. CentAR contributed to the development of this strategy by preparing a background analysis of the tourism sector as input.
In recent years, the Estonian tourism sector, like many others worldwide, has faced significant challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the sector, closing hotels and restaurants for months and drastically reducing international travel flows.
This was followed by the escalation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which, among other things, caused a sharp rise in energy prices and influenced the perception of Western European tourists regarding countries bordering Russia. These destinations are now considered less safe to travel to than before.
In addition to global events, some domestic political decisions (such as the increase in VAT rates for accommodation services) have also affected the performance of hotels. It can be said without a doubt that recent years have been particularly challenging for the tourism sector.