THE RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE IS NOT A REASON TO CANCEL YOUR TRIP TO ESTONIA

Western allies have sanctioned Russia. It is extremely important that driven only by mistrust, we do not extend it and sanction each other in a hidden form. If we become too sceptical, cancelling travel plans and reservations now, we reduce our contacts and create unnecessary hardship for allies' economies – not because of the threat of war, but only because of fear. 

There is no travel warning about visiting Estonia, other Baltic states or Nordic countries, all of which are located near Russia (e.g. official travel advisories by US; Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock invites German visitors to spend their holiday in the Baltic States; Finnish and Estonian ministers of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä and Andres Sutt promoting travelling to Estonia and Finland).

A holiday or business trip maintains direct contact among people, relieves mistrust and tension, and makes a direct contribution to improving the economy and security situation all over Europe.

Estonia is in Northern Europe

• Estonia is the northernmost of the Baltic states, located only 80 km from Helsinki, the capital of Finland. 
• Currently, there is no military threat to Estonia. The war is going on just as far away from Estonia as from many other European countries. For example, it is about 1300 km from Tallinn to Kyiv – exactly like from Berlin to Kyiv or from Vienna to Kyiv.

Estonia is a member of the most powerful international organisations

• Estonia is a member of the European Union and NATO since 2004, a member of the Schengen area since 2007, a member of OECD since 2010 and a member of the euro area since 2011. In May 2020, Estonia chaired the UN Security Council for the first time.
• Estonia is also recognized by tourism organisations at the international level. Visit Estonia is a member of the board of the European Travel Commission (ETC) and chairs the ETC marketing group.

There are no obstacles in the connections of Estonia and the Western world

• This summer, there are direct international flights to 50 destinations from Tallinn Lennart Meri airport. For example, for the first time in history, we have 4 regular routes from Italy: Rome, Milan, Naples, and Venice.
• Ship traffic between Tallinn and Helsinki is frequent: big passenger ships sail between Tallinn and Helsinki almost every hour. A big passenger ship sails between Tallinn and Stockholm every other day. In March, 375,000 passengers travelled on these ships.
• We have comfortable and quick bus connections with Latvia and Lithuania and several tour operators offer Baltic tours.
• Tallinn, Tartu and Helsinki created a cross-border system that provides comfortable public transport ticket purchase options in all three cities.
• Nearly 200 cruise ships both from Europe and America are coming to Estonia this season.

Estonia is a reliable and desirable venue for international events

• Numerous international conferences for professionals will be organized in Estonia this year, several each month – among them many different medical and cyber research conferences etc.
• Also, many TOP-priority events in the international event calendar will take place in Estonia, such as Orienteering World Cup and European Orienteering Championships, World Field Archery Championships, and FIA World Rally Championship round Rally Estonia etc.