Global Birdfair July 12-14, 2024., Rutland, UK.
The Estonian Nature Tourism Association, in collaboration with Visit Estonia’s and Estonian Rural Tourism, participated in the Global Birdfair from July 12-14 in Rutland. This time, we organized a meeting evening on the first day of the fair for tour operators and the media, during which the Forest Restaurant and Ellery Powell offered exquisite forest-inspired flavors. Visit Estonia representative Lily Allas and Estonian Rural Tourism Association representative Elin Pippin Priksukk provided inspiration for traveling to Estonia. On-site entrepreneurs—Birding Haapsalu, Wild Nature Estonia, IndieTours, Loodustaju, and NaTourEst—presented their services through wonderful video clips.
On the last day of the fair, all visitors had the chance to partake in a delightful journey into Estonian nature through different senses, titled “WildEST five senses journey in Estonian Nature.” This featured a program through nature parks, unique wildlife experiences, pure forest food, and sauna rituals with herbal plants. The intriguing title attracted over 60 attendees who were thrilled and expressed their excitement at our booth after the presentation.
Over the three days, the fair was visited by an estimated 15,000 nature enthusiasts, whose deep interest in nature was admirable. It was an honor to meet and get acquainted with many. We introduced ourselves to most of the participating tour operators, who also offered destinations in Europe. Tour operators currently offering Estonia as a destination are extremely satisfied with current partners, such as Birding Haapsalu with Tarvo Valker, NatourEst with Bert Rähni, and Wild Estonia Nature with Mati Kose. We refreshed contacts with tour operators from Finland, Lithuania, and France, whose experiences from nearly a decade ago encouraged them to start planning collaborations with Estonian companies again. For instance, Loodustaju and Liisi Peets made a promising contact with an American tour operator planning to offer tours to Estonia in 2025/2026. Representatives from a French tour operator were enchanted by IndieTours’ “Bog & Sauna” service, ideal for the final day of a nature observation tour. Talking to tour operators highlighted a growing interest in photo tours, particularly among younger generations of travel enthusiasts. There is also interest in butterfly and orchid observation tours, often combined with bird or wildlife spotting.
An interview with a visitor, whose travel experiences in Estonia were highly praised, was particularly motivating. During a five-day visit, unique butterflies and birds were observed, with the bonus of seeing wolves, moose, and beavers. The trip included visits to Matsalu and Soomaa National Parks and an overnight stay at Soomaa Holiday Village.
The participation in the fair was co-financed by the Interreg Central Baltic program within the NAT-TOUR-EXPO Baltic Nature Tourism project, aimed at marketing Estonian and Latvian nature to the UK market.
Next year, we plan to introduce Estonian nature and businesses again, and interested parties are welcome to join us at https://www.loodusturism.com/astuliikmeks and the Baltic Nature Tourism project at https://www.loodusturism.com/interregprojekt .
