One blot on the landscape is a fall in the number of visitors from Finland so far – Estonia's northern neighbor has traditionally provided a major proportion of summer tourists to Pärnu.

The issue partly relates to Finland's struggling economy, though overall the hope remains for a successful summer, particularly as people are often booking at the last minute.

Kairi Lusik, head of the Viiking Spa Hotel, told "Aktuaalne kaamera" customers have become increasingly price-sensitive and are making accommodation decisions so late that it is getting ever more difficult for hotels to forecast demand. June was weaker for the hotel than the same month last year, she added, though the next two months may turn out fine.

"So far, July and August look good, so there's no reason to panic. Still, we'll only know at the end of the month or at the end of the summer what the final results will be. But the main drop in overnight stays since the beginning of the year has come from the Finnish market," Lusik said, adding the number of tourists from Finland staying in the hotel was down by a third in the first half of this year.

Finns will still make up the bulk of guests through the high season, she said, along with visitors from neighboring Latvia and Estonians on vacation in their own country.

Estonia Spa Hotels says, however, it has bucked the trend by performing better in June than it had done a year earlier. The rate of summer bookings is comparable to last summer so far and may well reach 100 percent occupancy.

"In summer we always reach occupancy of almost 100 percent. Right now, there's every reason to believe it will be the same this year. Looking ahead to August, though, it seems that month could be a little weaker," said Andrus Aljas, head of the chain.

Aljas said he was pleased to see growing numbers of visitors from Lithuania and Germany, though he, too, acknowledged that the Finnish market remains challenging.

"We expect Finnish visitors to return once Finland's economy starts to recover," Aljas said.

Hestia Group, which operates hotels in Haapsalu, Tallinn and Riga, as well as in Pärnu, says it has been seeing a decline in the market in the Estonian summer capital, again putting this down to a fall in the number of Finnish visitors, as well as destination marketing.

"In my view, July occupancy is currently slightly below where it was at the same point last year. At the moment, Pärnu is trailing Tallinn, Tartu and Haapsalu. Unfortunately, Pärnu has largely marketed itself as a beach destination. I think that if we can move beyond that image in other markets as well, it will certainly be the key to success," said Kaisa Mailend, Hestia CEO.

Despite fewer Finnish tourists and a surge in last-minute bookings, Pärnu hotels say summer reservations are keeping pace with last year, raising hopes for a strong season.

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