We have visited the Tourest 2020 travel fair in Tallinn, Estonia. Really fun and inspiring! The fair offers both inspiration and tips for those who want to discover Estonia, and for those who want to see the rest of the world. We also got to try lots of Estonian delicacies.
Table of contents
Tourest 2020 travel fair
Tourest is an international travel fair held in Tallinn every year. The fair starts with a programme for travel industry professionals and then opens to the public.
This year the fair runs from 7-9 February, and we were here last Friday together with the Estonian Tourist Board in Sweden and a small group of Swedish tour operators and journalists. We had time to check out 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.
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.
As you can see from the picture below, motorhomes are welcome in Estonia. There is a camping map of campsites in the Baltics, but you can also free camp.
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?
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Ama de casa says:
Looked like a really nice and well organised fair - and OJ what a lot of goodies! 🙂
That I have been to Estonia is probably an exaggeration, but we went on one of those cruises to Tallinn from Stockholm in 2009 and it was a very nice city to visit even if it was only one day. I even almost got to ride the Little Train! But only almost... 😉
09 February 2020 - 10:35
Helena says:
Tallinn is a nice city! 🙂 And yes, there were lots of goodies this time ... 😉.
09 February 2020 - 18:06
bmlarstravellingblog says:
We have never visited Tallinn, Estonia and the other neighbouring countries. Something else has always come first. Combining a visit to the city with a nice fair at this time of year is not a bad idea!
We will soon be on full-time leave, so we can't blame it on lack of time.
09 February 2020 - 11:55
Helena says:
There are always priorities, of course! But we can recommend Estonia, when you have time! 🙂
09 February 2020 - 18:07
BP says:
I've been to Tallinn three times, but I haven't tried the local delicacies, and I'm glad when I see pastries containing spinach and beetroot....
Vastlakukkel - what a funny name for "our" buns. Bonus there for tasty "kukkles", as long as they didn't contain spinach and beetroot;-)
I am also a bit surprised that the Estonian stands had no signs in English.
If you want to sleep in these Capsule Hostels, it's really important not to be claustrophobic, as they are very much like a magnetic camera...
09 February 2020 - 16:15
Helena says:
Haha, those cookies were actually pretty good 😉 But you're absolutely right that some stands were not super prepared in English. Often there were brochures in Russian, but the English ones they sometimes had to dig in the drawers for ... In their defence, all exhibitors spoke very good English.
09 February 2020 - 18:10