Islanders wonder where their visitors disappear to after getting off the ferry. Ferry statistics show ever-growing numbers, but hosts instead speak of a negative year.
TS Laevad hopes to set a record this year, that as many passengers as this year have never traveled by ferry to Hiiumaa or Saaremaa in the last seven years of operation.
“According to our forecasts, our period of operation will be a record year in terms of the number of passengers. According to our data, this increase will be realized by all segments: foreign tourists, permanent residents, even ordinary Estonian citizens traveling between islands “All these segments have grown. But of course we don’t monitor how much time these people spend on the island, whether they stay for one day, three days or five days. We simply see the number of passengers who pass through our ships, “said Katrin Aron , member of the board of directors of TS Laevade.
Unfortunately the positive statistics of the shipping company are not reflected in the accommodations.
“We ourselves made a statistic that the share of Estonians this year decreased by up to 15%, fortunately there were more foreigners. As for tourists, we definitely have a large number of guest apartments, for which it’s difficult to know the statistics and probably not the most accurate. But this year no one has expanded hotels,” said hotel entrepreneur Terje Nepper.
“This is probably explained by the fact that people continue to go, but not to stay overnight in these accommodations. After all, almost half of us have still spent the night on the sofa of friends, acquaintances, relatives or grandmothers. This percentage is probably increased. And the feedback from accommodation has also been so complicated, there are danger signs. And if you still manage to sell accommodation, for example, sales of spa hotels, which also have additional services, have also decreased,” he said Kristina Mägi, chief tourism marketing specialist of the municipality of Saaremaa.
Compared to a year ago, this year 83,000 more people traveled to Saaremaa-Muhumaa in 11 months, the share of the islanders themselves in the transfer is slightly less than a quarter of all passengers.
2023-12-16 16:41:00
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