The Tourism Strategy 2022-25 guides tourism policy in Estonia and targets a more adaptable, resilient and sustainable tourism economy by 2025, with strategic goals set out in three priority areas:
Product and destination development: become a sustainable tourism destination that offers visitors a diverse and unique travel experience in all seasons.
Restoration of demand: exceed pre-crisis levels of number of tourists and export of tourism services.
Ensuring connectivity: be well-connected to the main markets and have easily accessible tourism products and services, both physically and virtually.
To achieve these objectives, the Strategy prioritises longer stays and higher spending per visitor over increasing the number of international arrivals. This strategic shift also aims to enhance the sustainability of tourism and generate greater added value.
Co-operation with key stakeholders is fundamental to delivering on the Strategy, with a number of models and approaches being taken to strengthen engagement with business associations, transport carriers and entry points to Estonia (focusing on air and sea ports), and other key partners through the Tourism Council, which gathers at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications to discuss current topics in tourism.
Tourism in Estonia had already exceeded the targets set out in the Strategy by the end of 2023. However, given the new geopolitical and economic challenges facing Estonia, the Tourism Council decided not to amend the target levels in 2023-24. However, Estonia remains committed to fulfilling the vision for tourism set out in the Strategy. Connectivity remains a crucial issue, as well as upskilling the workforce.
In addition to the Tourism Strategy 2022-25, Estonia is currently drafting a 2035 long-term vision for tourism. Recognising tourism's interconnected nature with other sectors, Estonia adopted a multi-level approach, including workshops, surveys, interviews, and validation seminars, to engage stakeholders in developing its long-term vision using Strategic Foresight (Box 1.2).
To support the implementation of the Tourism Strategy 2022-25, several tourism programmes have been launched. For example, Estonia commissioned a study entitled Transition to Sustainable Tourism in Estonia: Current Situation, Preconditions, Impact, Investment and Support Needs for the Tourism Sector. A Tourism Sustainability Action Plan was created at the end of 2023, based on policy recommendations. The Action Plan requires collaboration between government and non-government stakeholders to ensure sustainability is integrated into the Estonian tourism offering.
Other initiatives include the Tourism Digital Mentoring Alongside Digitalisation Roadmap which aims to increase digital literacy and digital uptake within tourism businesses, through mentoring and the creation of a digital roadmap. Each company will be required to contribute 10% of the cost of the mentoring over a five-month period. In return, they will receive training in digital marketing and a roadmap catered to their business to help achieve greater profitability and efficiency over a three-year period.
The Integration and Interface Support for Tourism Sector Software support scheme aims to assist in the digitalisation and automation of work processes for tourism service providers. The support enables the adoption of software, such as implementing new resource management software, and allows the integration of various software systems. The application process for the support opened in November 2023 and applications can be submitted continuously. The budget totals EUR 1.9 million, and businesses can benefit from a EUR 20 000 maximum grant, if they contribute with at least 30% of self-financing.
