Good for Business, Latvia, Markets and Companies, Tourism

"In a year the growth might be 10 %, and it is a very large growth. There is a considerable growth in the number of tourists from Ukraine. Russian tourists are returning. We also have new markets we are working on – Spain, the US, China, Japan. These countries are showing interest, tourists are coming," she said.

Jermolovica also said that the tourism season in Riga started out positively even though RTAB had been concerned about results after the increased tourist flow in the past two years when Riga was the European Capital of Culture in 2014 and the EU Presidency in 2015.

She said that in the second quarter of this year tourists spent by 6.5 % more nights in Riga hotels and other tourist facilities than in the respective period last year, which is a good indicator. At the same time, there are many tourists who are renting private apartments, and many apartments are not even included in statistics.

"People need even short holidays. Many people are their own tour operators – it is very easy to purchase flight tickets on the Internet, direct flights to Riga are ensured not only by airBaltic, but also other airlines, it is easy to book hotels online. Riga is very compact, you can walk everywhere – there are SPA centers, night clubs, markets, restaurants, concerts in the center," she said.

The Riga Tourism Development Office (RTAB) was established in late 2009 by the Riga City Council (70 %), the national air carrier airBaltic (10 %), the Latvian Hotel and Restaurant Association (10 %) and the Association of Latvian Tourism Agents (10 %) for promotion of tourism and Riga as a tourism destination for foreign travelers.