Forum, Latvia, Tourism

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 22:39

Tourism Development Agency organized Japanese journalists' visit to Latvia

BC, Riga, 14.07.2015.Print version
The Latvian Tourism Development Agency organized a visit to Latvia for seven Japanese journalists so they could see tourist attractions in various regions and the capital city and get to know Latvia, as the agency's public relations officer, Inta Briede, told LETA.

Photo: tava.gov.lv

The visit continued from July 7 to July 12 and cost EUR 6,000. The group included seven Japanese journalists, of which three stayed a few days longer as they wanted to see more than what was on the original agenda, said Briede.

 

They represented three major Japanese lifestyle magazines – "Moe", "Liniere", "Plus1 Living", whose circulation ranges from 80,000 to 300,000 copies. The magazines regularly run stories about cultural heritage and its impact on the modern-day world, traditional crafts, home cooking, beliefs of various peoples, values and spirituality, said Briede.

 

During the first part of the visit, the journalists spent two-and-a-half days in Latgale to learn about the culture and history of the province. They then attended the 11th Youth Song and Dance Festival and explored Riga and its various cultural aspects – the Old Town, Art Nouveau, cuisine.

 

The Japanese journalists were pleased with what they had seen in Latvia, and said "there is a lot to see in Latgale."

 

"Since 2012, the Tourism Development Agency has been organizing one visit by journalists and one or two visits by tour operators," said Briede. "We see that the number of Japanese tourists increases every year, as does Japanese tourists' interest about Latvia. The Baltic countries cooperate on the markets that are further away, with every country taking on a specific market. Lithuania, for instance, does work in the United States, whereas Latvia in Japan," said Briede.

 

The number of Japanese tourists to Latvia is steadily increasing, she added. In 2013, a total of 9,000 Japanese tourists were stayed in Latvia's accommodation establishments, the figure increased 74 percent to almost 16,000 in 2014. In the first quarter of 2015, the number of Japanese tourists traveling to Latvia increased 58 percent from the first quarter of 2014.






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