OREANDA-NEWS. May 18, 2009. The abolition of the requirement to have an invitation from a resident of Estonia to apply for an Estonian visa is likely to lead to an increase in the number of Russians visiting Estonia, tourism professionals interviewed by Postimees said.

Feliks Magus, manager of the Estonian association of hotels and restaurants, said that interest toward Estonia has been growing among Russian tourists already for some time.

When a trip is booked via a travel agency the agency usually arranges for the too, but the trend worldwide is toward reducing the role of travel agencies, Magus said.

Tarmo Bachmann, manager of the Narva-Joesuu based Meresuu spa hotel, said that every step which makes travel from one country to the other simpler in the present period full of challenges is in every way welcome.

"There are 10 million potential visitors in the St. Petersburg region, many of them are positively minded about Estonia and have contacts with Estonia," Bachmann said. He added, though, that it was not visas but the tiresome and time-consuming procedures on the border that posed the biggest problem for Russian tourists.

Russian tourists have made up from two to three percent of the overall number of tourists accommodated in Estonia in this century. The percentage climbed to 3.5 last year and to a record 6.5 percent in the first quarter of this year.

The Riigikogu passed a legal amendment last week which abolishes the requirement for travelers to have an invitation to apply for an Estonian visa.