Estonia avoids marketing cooler weather to foreign tourists
Estonia is resisting calls to market its cooler summer weather to foreign tourists even as heat waves sweep across much of Europe. Officials say the country should be promoted for its culture, nature and experiences rather than as a refuge from high temperatures.
Western Europe is facing repeated heat waves this year, which may push some travelers to look for cooler destinations.
Agnia Nasti, team lead at the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, said Estonia should not be promoted as a place people visit only to escape the heat.
"We actually do not want people to come to Estonia just because it is too hot somewhere else. We want them to discover Estonia because there is something to do, something to experience, because there are great events you cannot find elsewhere. That is why we have not built our brand around climate," Nasti said.
She said climate may influence a traveler's final choice, but Estonia is introduced mainly through culture, nature, food and local experiences.
"This is definitely our competitive advantage, that we offer people a variety of experiences," she said.
In her view, tourism must take into account changing travel habits.
"If trends show that people increasingly look for moderate climates in summer, then we certainly know the right channels and the right messages to make Estonia more visible," Nasti said.
Külli Karing, board member of the Estonian Tourism Companies Association, said heat waves mainly affect people who decide to travel shortly before their vacation.
"In general, many tourist decisions are made well in advance. For those trips, the heat wave effect may not be that big, but for last‑minute decisions, a heat wave definitely plays some role," Karing said.
She said climate could complement Estonia's existing marketing messages, but building campaigns solely around it would not be reasonable.
"Purely building major marketing campaigns around climate would probably not make sense, but it is definitely an important argument. The combination of nature and a pleasant climate is a winning argument," Karing said.
Karing also stressed that Estonia needs tourists. She said foreign tourism has not yet returned to pre‑2019 levels, but if growth continues, the hope is to reach that level by the end of the year.
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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Argo Ideon
