TALLINN - As Estonian consumers struggle to keep up with inflation and loan payments, local tour operators are bracing for one of the most difficult years on record as fewer residents can afford the luxury of a summer vacation abroad.
Tour operators have said that the competition in the tourism industry is extremely tight and that the next couple years will weed out the least fit to survive. When it's all over, no more than four major players will remain, according to a report in the Russian publication Day After Day (Den' za Dnem).
Tiina Peterson, director of Happy Travel, said that Estonia's tourism industry is characterized by too much supply and not enough demand.
Naturally this has forced operators to offer tour packages at a discount, which is remarkable given the rising price for jet fuel.
Lea Kroonmann, director of Tez Tour, a recent arrival to the Estonian tourism industry, said that in many cases one can enjoy a holiday in Greece, Turkey and Italy at cost.
Last year, for example, the average holiday tour cost some 10,000 kroons (640 euros). This year the average cost is 5,000 kroons, operators said.
Still, one only gets what one pays for, operators warn.
"Clients may get the feeling that prices are falling. But that's not how it is. Prices for oil are continuing to climb, so there is no basis to talk about falling prices" for tour packages, said Merike Aspe, director of Novatours Eesti.
The trend is similar in the other Baltic countries. Earlier this spring Novaturas, a Lithuanian tour operator, cancelled all chartered flights to Egypt due to a lack of demand.
Competitors said the move was unprecedented considering the tours had been advertised in the agency's catalogues.
Estonia's operators said that the rigid competition will doom smaller players on the market since they have little room for price maneuvering.
