Finland is Estonia’s biggest piece of luck.

The war in Ukraine has largely erased Russian business in Estonia, but Finnish shoppers have now filled part of the gap.

This stems not from major Estonian improvements, but from Finland’s economic decline due to the closure of the Russian border, pushing economically damaged Finns onto ferries for cheaper shopping in Estonia.

A “survival” mode kicked in, and we have to recognize the Finns’ ability to adapt. Finns are now the top customers, replacing Russians.

The price gap makes these trips almost mandatory after each salary. Savings on alcohol, tobacco, clothing, and food easily cover ferry costs, often leaving room for an overnight hotel, dining, partying, or casinos.

And let’s be honest, Tallinn is a very nice city, but I don’t think this is sufficient to take the Finns out of their cozy homes in the middle of winter unless something else is burning: the wallet.

Key price examples: cigarettes are 45% cheaper in Estonia; wine, beer, and spirits have similar gaps that favor Estonia for bulk buys.

And from my understanding, clothing also has a decent price benefit. Alongside that, hair and nail salons benefit from this tourism, but here the prices align with Finland’s, yet as people say, while we’re in play, let’s play.

Ferry fares from Helsinki to Tallinn for foot passengers can be found at €15 one way for the 2-hour mini cruise, with multiple daily crossings making Tallinn feel for the Finns like one of their own cities.

Passenger scale: The route saw over 7 million passengers last year (mostly foot and day trippers), with Finns driving steady numbers despite headwinds.

Bargain tourism remains strong and growing, as for some, visiting Tallinn is becoming a routine.

A bartender confessed that they now started to adjust the offering as Finns are more regular than locals and now some bars in Tallinn print their menus in English only.

Anyway, this new “shopping” tourism unfortunately mainly boosts budget and middle-class shops in Estonia, while the luxury sector, once reliant on Russian spending, stays dead in both Estonia and Finland.

But let’s be honest, a Swatch and a Rolex give the same time, and maybe it’s better this way… sorry Armani… Zara is fine!

Still, this wave of deal hunters keeps Finland’s middle market going in survival mode, with Finns now shopping only promotions and discounted items. As most Finns now mostly shop at Lidl and co.

But this situation de facto is hurting Tallinn’s residents with higher demand driven by the huge wave of Finns all in Tallinn for Estonian shopping.

As a result, many locals head to the suburbs, since the Tallinn center is now prohibitive even for Estonians.

This is not a scientific article; it is just my personal impression after a week in Tallinn, and if something is inexact, feel free to comment and correct me if I’m wrong.

-Guido, Electro-Mechanical Engineer and Russophile

Editor’s note: Finland has experienced record bankruptcies since the beginning of sanctions in relation to the Special Military Operation. Furthermore, one has to wonder why wealthy and notoriously the most “happy on Earth”, EU citizens have to take a boat to get their basic needs met.