Tourism in Riga experiences a steadfast trend of renewal, and during the first seven months of the year has reached a growth of 14 % in comparison with the last year. The capital of Latvia also successfully adapts to the global changes in the area of tourism, attracting more Western tourists which replace previously dominating tourists from Russia. This information was provided by representatives of Riga Investment and Tourism Agency (RITA) in the press conference held on Friday, October 11.
Riga tourism statistics and marketing activities for 2024 were presented in the press conference. Participating in the event were Vilnis Ķirsis, the Mayor of Riga; Fredis Bikovs, Director of RITA; and Linda Pede, Manager for International Cooperation and Marketing Management of RITA.
“Tourism sector since 2019 has been affected by two factors: COVID pandemic and the war started by Russia in Ukraine. Contrary to myths disseminated knowingly or unknowingly and stating that tourism sector in Riga stagnates, the objective data proves that the number of tourists spending a night in hotels of Riga will reach beyond one million for the first time this year since the pandemic. Assurance is provided also by the data that thanks to targeted effort of promoting Riga as a tourist destination in the Western European countries, the segment of travellers formerly comprised of tourists from aggressor countries has almost fully been replaced. Riga is the most significant tourism centre in Latvia, and we will continue our investments in developing tourism,” said Mr Vilnis Ķirsis, the Chairman of the Riga City Council.
“We can see from the statistical data that replacement of Russian tourists with the markets of the Western Europe is successful. This year, we chose Finland, Norway and Poland as the main target countries for major marketing campaigns. Finland as a country which is the most successful in recovery after pandemic; Norway as an important and solvent market whose indicators of 2023 were below average in comparison with the pre-pandemic level; and Poland because it is a major market, close to Riga, and in a similar geopolitical situation,” explained Mr Fredis Bikovs, the Director of RITA.
Tourism in Riga shows a healthy growth in 2024
Riga experiences a stable renewal in tourism with an increase of 14 % in the first seven months of 2024 in comparison with the same period of the previous year. It is projected that hotels will achieve 80 % of the pre-pandemic load this year with 1.1 million guests, and short-term rented apartments will even exceed this level reaching 93 % of the volumes in 2019. Riga is still the main tourism centre and the driving force in Latvia because 70 % of all foreign visitors have chosen to spend nights in hotels of the capital city.
Western markets replace the Russian tourists
Riga successfully adapts to the global changes in tourism sector as the previously dominant Russian tourists forming 15-30 % depending on the season are now replaced with visitors from the Western countries. Taking the first place for several months of the year in terms of the number of foreign tourists are Germans, and it shows the recovery of market and sends a positive signal to the industry. The number of visitors from Germany and the Great Britain has significantly increased: the number of Germans has increased by 38 % during seven months, and even up to 44 % during the season (from May to July). The number of visitors from the Great Britain has also increased by 11 %, and reached 18 % during the seasonal months.
Mr Bikovs stated that in 2024 special attention was addressed to markets with high potential or similar geopolitical situation, such as Finland, Norway, and Poland. In terms of using the short-term rented apartments, the aim of replacing Russian tourists with visitors from other countries has been fully achieved; for example, the number of Polish tourists in this segment has more than doubled, and the number of Lithuanian and Finnish tourists has increased by 50 %. A myth that the number of Swedish tourists is affected by non-existence of the ferry line is wide-spread; however, data shows that the number of Swedish tourists spending a night in Riga has increased in comparison with the other Baltic capitals regardless of the fact that there is no ferry between Tallinn and Stockholm.
Riga leads the domestic tourism market of the Baltic States, and the development of the short-term rental market
Riga is still the leading tourist destination in the Baltic region, overtaking both Tallinn and Vilnius in attracting tourists. Estonians visit Riga by 31 % more than Latvians visit Tallinn, and Lithuanians go to Riga even by 77 % more often than Latvians visit Vilnius.
The capital city invests 1.5 millions in the international marketing and supporting measures
In 2024, RITA has invested a total of 1.5 million euros in development of tourism, diverting the money from the tourism duty. The funds are used for support programme of business tourism, marketing channels of airlines airBaltic, Norwegian and British Airways, as well as in international tourism guides, thus implementing the advertising campaigns for the major events (Rimi Riga Marathon, Positivus Festival, FIA World Rally Championship stage Tet Rally Latvia), as well as the international marketing and PR campaigns in Finland, Norway, Poland, including campaigns such as Michelin Guide and Gastronomy and Summer campaigns.
Events of Riga are recognised on an international level as well; for example, the city has taken the high 6th place in the rating of Europe’s Best Destinations attracting more than one million votes from travellers from 172 countries and will participate in the voting on the best Christmas Fair in Europe in November. It is planned to increase the international communication budget of 2025 by 20 %.
Information was prepared by: Mārtiņš Vilemsons, Project Coordinator at External Communication Division of Riga City Council, email: martins.vilemsons@riga.lv
