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Nature guide Bert Rähni says that nature tourism is a growing trend. He shares the charms of Estonia’s untouched nature with visitors from Western Europe, the U.S. as well as India.
Looking out from the Haeska birdwatching tower in Lääne County, one can spot tundra swans, northern lapwings – and German and Finnish tourists. Estonia has become a magnet for nature tourism during peak bird migration.
“We have a lot of different habitats in a small area,” Rähni said in an appearance on ETV’s “Ringvaade” on Friday. “In the morning we watch birds, during the day we drive to Hiiumaa, and our plan for the evening is to go looking for moose in the forest. And all of this can be done in the space of a day.”
He noted that nearby Finland has plenty of natural assets as well, but the distances there are much greater as well.
Estonia has the right infrastructure for this ttoo. For example, nature tourists have a place to stay right next to the Haeska birdwatching tower.
“Everything’s so simple and accessible,” he highlighted.
“Nature tourism is clearly a growing global trend,” the Estonian nature guide said. “If you travel anywhere in Asia or Africa, you’ll see that all the national parks are rather overcrowded. People visit cities too, but Western European tourists have grown tired of that; everyone’s seen everything.”
According to Rähni, Estonia attracts tourists with a strong, in-depth interest and extensive prior knowledge, who come specifically to look for owls and wood grouse, for example. But it’s also a draw for those with a more general interest in nature, who come just to experience nature, and see things like large flocks of birds preparing for migration.
Laurin and Anna traveled to Estonia from Southern Germany, near Munich.
“We’re interested in hiking in nature in general,” said Anna. “We’ve been birdwatching in Norway a few times. We’ve been to Costa Rica with a travel agency’s help too; they focus on nature hikes and contact with nature. That trip we planned for I think three years.”
“After our trip to Costa Rica, we started thinking about whether Europe might have something like that to offer,” Laurin recalled. “Costa Rica is pretty far away. Then we realized Estonia has a lot of untouched nature. We researched it online, and decided to come visit.”
Next week, Rähni is expecting a new group of English and Dutch tourists.
“Most of them come from big Western European countries,” he said. “There are more and more tourists from France, Spain and Denmark. What’s also really interesting is that the first clients have started coming here from the U.S. and India as well.”
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