Tourest 2020 travel fair in Tallinn - travel destinations and delicacies

Writer: Helena Bergström

We visited the travel fair Tourest 2020 in Tallinn – a colorful fair full of travel destinations, inspiration and Estonian delicacies. Here we were able to discover everything from Estonian regions and local food producers to travel destinations from other parts of the world. Follow us back to our visit to Tourest in February 2020!

Tourest 2020 travel fair

Tourest is an international travel fair in Tallinn. When we visited the fair in 2020, it opened with a program for travel professionals before opening to the public.

In 2020, the fair took place from 7-9 February, and we were here together with the Estonian Tourist Board in Sweden and a small group of Swedish tour operators and journalists. We had time to take a look at the three parts of the fair:

• Taste Estonia! - Estonian delicacies
• Visit Estonia! - What to see and do in all regions of Estonia
• Global area - Destinations around the world

Taste Estonia!

We started in the part of the Tourest 2020 fair that offered Estonian delicacies. Wonderful! Here we found lovely freshly baked bread and a classic Estonian smoked cheese in "braids". We tried this - good and with a lot of smoke flavour.

There were also plenty of sweets, in the form of buns and cakes. We tried the green and burgundy cakes you see below. They contained spinach and beetroot, which added to the colour. Sweet and tasty!

In one stall we found semlor, or 'vastlakukkel' as they are called in Estonian. Just like in Sweden, these pastries are eaten on Fat Tuesday. Behind the regular buns you can see a 'savoury' version.

At one table, small flavour portions were set out for us to try. Everything was locally produced from various small farms around the country: sausage, liver paste, smoked meat, cheese, pickled cucumber and vegan truffles, among other things. We thought the truffles were perhaps a little tasteless, but the sausage and smoked meat were fantastic.

Estonia also has local production of many different drinks - from beer and cider to sparkling wine and liqueurs. Peter tried a beer that he really liked.

I (Helena) fell in love with one of the apple drinks from the apple farm. Siidrikodawhich is located in southern Estonia. We also tried really good cider from the cider farm. Tori, which is half an hour from Pärnu by car. Read more about Estonian food here..

Visit Estonia!

Once we were satisfied with the delicacies at Tourest 2020, we moved on to the hall of Estonian destinations. Here you could pretty much "walk around" all of Estonia, from region to region. Many showed off spas, as there are plenty of spas in, for example. Pärnu and Haapsalu, and on the big island Saaremaa.

Many regions also showcased what they have to offer such as national parks, hiking trails, bear watching, fishing, castles, mansions, museums, sauna experiences and local culture.

At the fair we also found information for those who want to discover Estonia and the rest of the Baltics by motorhome. You can read more about traveling by campervan in Estonia here..

If you're not travelling by motorhome or caravan, you might want to try a 'capsule hotel'...? These little overnight boxes have been popular in Asia for a while, but apparently they are now also available in Tallinn. Interesting!

Global area at Tourest 2020

Last but not least, we checked out the largest exhibition hall at the Tourest 2020 travel fair, with both travel agencies and destinations from all over the world. We thought it was great that many destinations in Russia were represented and had the opportunity to talk to a representative from Kaliningrad. We also looked at exciting destinations such as Nepal, Georgia and Uzbekistan.

Have you been to Estonia? Have you tried any Estonian delicacies?