EU – Baltic States, Forum, Good for Business, Latvia, LIVE RIGA, Tourism

Riga Tourism Development Bureau spokesman Aigars Smiltans confirmed to Nozare.lv that Riga's capacity will allow to accommodate all of the additional guests arriving for the tournament. He said that several new hotels will be opened within the next 12 months, which will ensure at least 600 additional rooms. Overall, the total number of hotel rooms in the Latvian capital is expected to reach 14,000.

Furthermore, the tournament itself will take place right after the active tourist season, in September, when hotel occupancy is a bit lower when compared to the summer months. If necessary, guests can also be accommodated in nearby Sigulda and Jurmala.

Smiltans explains that the approximate number of basketball expected to arrive could be known after the groups themselves are set and it is known which countries will be playing in the Riga group. If some neighboring countries are drawn into Latvia's group, the number of guests could be larger.

The EuroBasket tournament in Riga will also increase the city's popularity, as many guests will certainly ''investigate'' on-line what to do before and after the matches.

Compared to the situation in 2006, when Riga hosted the Ice Hockey World Championships, Smiltans pointed out that the situation then was quite unpleasant, as many operating in the tourism sector inflated their prices, and were later in for a surprise when they were not able to fill their occupancy as many potential guests decided to stay in accommodation establishments well outside of the city.

Smiltans expressed hope that this time those offering these services will have learned from past mistakes. He also allowed the possibility that hotel prices will not increase as much as they did in 2006, because there is much more competition between hotels in the Latvian capital at the moment.

Meanwhile, the executive director of the Latvian Hotel and Restaurant Association Santa Gaikste pointed out to Nozare.lv that Latvia already has good experience not only in organizing the Ice Hockey World Championships, but other major sporting events.

Graikste emphasized that accommodation and catering establishments will certainly be able to accommodate the additional number of guests, and that the most recent large-scale event in the Latvian capital was the World Choir Games in July, which attracted over 20,000 participants and guests.

She also added that the organization of EuroBasket will be beneficial for Latvia in the long-term, as many persons who will arrive for the first time might come back at a later time together with friends or family.

As reported, with FIBA forced to switch from previously-selected Ukraine, in a vote yesterday in Madrid, Latvia won the right to hold one of the opening round group tournaments at the 2015 European Men's Basketball Championship.

The tournament will take place from September 5 to September 20, whereas the Latvia tournament games will take place from September 5 to September 10 at "Arena Riga".

The three other countries selected to host group games are Croatia, Germany, and France, with the finals scheduled for Lille, France.

The 2015 European Championship was originally to be held in Ukraine, however, due to the current situation in the country, Ukraine lost this opportunity.

Vying but left out yesterday were Finland, Israel, Poland and Turkey.

The following countries will participate in 2015 European Basketball Championship: Lithuania, Spain, France, Slovenia, Croatia, Ukraine, Serbia, Finland, Greece, Turkey, Estonia, Israel, Netherlands, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Poland, Austria, Belgium, Macedonia, Georgia, Czech Republic, Latvia, Italy and Russia.