Notable tourist attractions
National parks
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- Historic Centre of Riga (Vecrīga)
- Historic Centre of Kuldīga
- Struve Geodetic Arc
Tourism in Latvia is an emerging industry in the nation of Latvia. [1] 2.8 million visitors were recorded in 2018, an increase of 8% compared to 2017. In 2016, tourism contributed 4.5% of Latvia's GVA, and counted for 1.3 million euros in export revenue, and tourism-related industries accounted for 8.5% of total employment, or 77100 jobs in total. This was accompanied by significant growth in the number of hotels and accommodations in Latvia, rising 37% from 607 in 2018 to 831 in 2018, according to a 2020 OECD report. [2] Most tourists in Latvia come from neighbouring countries, primarily Russia, Germany, and the other two Baltic states, Estonia and Lithuania. [3] Most tourists stayed in Riga, the national capital. However, domestic tourism has been seeing a decline in Latvia, with less and less Latvians willing to travel abroad.
The Ministry of Economics [4] manages tourism policy in Latvia, as determined by the 1998 Tourism Law, and owns the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, an organization responsible for enactment of tourism policy in Latvia. The total budget for tourism in Latvia in 2018 was 2.6 million euros, combining funding from the state, the European Regional Development Fund, and from the European Destinations of Excellence programme. In 2014, the Ministry of Economics developed the 2014-20 Tourism Development Guidelines, a plan similar to that of neighbouring Estonia's National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP), and along with the Investment and Development Agency's Tourism Marketing Strategy 2018-23, aim to increase the knowledge of Latvia as a tourist destination and to run tourism in Latvia sustainably, [5] and to better educate the Latvian service sector in tourism management. [6]
The history of tourism in modern Latvia primarily begins with the country's independence from the Russian Empire. In 1929, the Ministries of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, and the Railway Central Board established the Latvian Central Tourism Society which transformed the prior tourism movements greatly to match Western European standards, and two years later, in 1931, the Bureau of Tourism at the Foreign Ministry was established. Over time, Latvia became the most visited country in the Baltic and Scandinavian regions: the number of foreign tourists in Latvia in 1931 was 85,719, compared to 40,000 in Lithuania, 37,470 in Finland and 71,975 in Norway. In 1937, there were 185 hotels, 68 boarding houses and 441 tourist houses in Latvia, where travellers stayed for 57,279 nights. [7]
After World War II and the incorporation of Latvia into the Soviet Union, the Latvian Republican Tourism And Excursion Board was established in 1946 and started to manage tourism in Latvia since 1962, along with the help of Soviet state-owned travel agency Intourist until the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.
The collapse of the Soviet Union led to large-scale reforms within the tourism industry in Latvia. From 1993 till 2003, the responsibility of tourism in Latvia belonged to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development.
The effects of climate change and global warming are being felt all across Europe, [8] and Latvia is no exception. However, the impact of climate change in Latvia is expected to be positive for Latvia, and for the wider Central and Eastern Europe in general. In the future, for instance, the Baltic States – so far characterised by cultural and rural tourism – could attract more seaside tourists. [9]
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east, Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi), with a population of 1.9 million. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Riga. Latvians belong to the ethnolinguistic group of the Balts and speak Latvian, one of the only two surviving Baltic languages. Russians are the most prominent minority in the country, at almost a quarter of the population.
The economy of Latvia is an open economy in Europe and is part of the European Single Market. Latvia is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 1999, a member of the European Union since 2004, a member of the Eurozone since 2014 and a member of the OECD since 2016. Latvia is ranked the 14th in the world by the Ease of Doing Business Index prepared by the World Bank Group. According to the Human Development Report 2011, Latvia belongs to the group of very high human development countries. Due to its geographical location, transit services are highly developed, along with timber and wood processing, agriculture and food products, and manufacturing of machinery and electronic devices.
Riga is the capital, primate, and the largest city of Latvia as well as the most populous city in the Baltic States. Home to 609,489 inhabitants, the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 860,142. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers 307.17 km2 (118.60 sq mi) and lies 1–10 m (3–33 ft) above sea level on a flat and sandy plain.
Jūrmala is a state city in Latvia, about 25 kilometres west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching 32 km and sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River. It has a 33 km stretch of white-sand beach and is the fifth-largest city in Latvia.
The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea are sometimes referred to as the "Baltic nations", less often and in historical circumstances also as the "Baltic republics", the "Baltic lands", or simply the Baltics.
The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was de facto one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990.
Russians in the Baltic states is a broadly defined subgroup of the Russian diaspora who self-identify as ethnic Russians, or are citizens of Russia, and live in one of the three independent countries – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. As of 2021, there were nearly 900,000 ethnic Russians in the three countries, having declined from ca 1.7 million in 1989, the year of the last census during the 1944–1991 Soviet occupation of the three Baltic countries.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Latvia:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Lithuania:
Rail Baltica is an under-construction rail infrastructure project that is intended to integrate the Baltic states in the European rail network. Its purpose is to provide passenger and freight service between participating countries and improve rail connections between Central and Northern Europe, specifically the area southeast of the Baltic Sea. It is also intended as a catalyst for building the economic corridor in Northeastern Europe. The project envisages a continuous rail link from Tallinn (Estonia) to Warsaw (Poland), consisting of links via Riga (Latvia), Kaunas, and Vilnius (Lithuania). Its total length in the Baltic States is 870 kilometres (540 mi), with 213 kilometres (132 mi) in Estonia, 265 kilometres (165 mi) in Latvia, and 392 kilometres (244 mi) in Lithuania. Rail Baltica is one of the priority projects of the European Union (EU). It is part of the North Sea–Baltic Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T).
The economy of Lithuania is the largest economy among the three Baltic states. Lithuania is a member of the European Union and belongs to the group of very high human development countries and is a member of the WTO and OECD.
Latvia–Lithuania relations are bilateral international relations between Latvia and Lithuania. Latvia has an embassy in Vilnius, and Lithuania has an embassy in Riga. The two states share 588 kilometres (365 mi) of common border. Both countries are full members of the NATO and European Union.
Latvia–Poland relations are foreign relations between Latvia and Poland. Both countries enjoy good relations and are close allies. There are around 57,000 Poles living in Latvia.
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia. The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland, the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and over 2,200 other islands and islets on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, covering a total area of 45,339 square kilometres (17,505 sq mi). The capital city Tallinn and Tartu are the two largest urban areas of the country. The Estonian language is the indigenous and the official language of Estonia; it is the first language of the majority of its population, as well as the world's second-most spoken Finnic language.
Energy in Estonia has heavily depended on fossil fuels. Finland and Estonia are two of the last countries in the world still burning peat.
Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) is a regional co-operation format that includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. Under NB8, regular meetings are held of the Baltic and Nordic countries' Prime Ministers, Speakers of Parliaments, Foreign Ministers, branch ministers, Secretaries of State and political directors of Foreign Ministries, as well as expert consultations where regional issues and current international topics are reviewed.
EuroFaculty was an educational institution in the Baltic states in reforming higher education in Economics, Law, Public Administration and Business Administration.
Latvia–Taiwan relations, also retroactively known as ROC–Latvian relations date back to August 16, 1923, when the Republic of China recognized Latvia de jure, in that period when the island of Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule. After the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, the ROC is one of the few countries that did not recognize Latvia's incorporation into the Soviet Union.
Latvia–Uzbekistan relations are bilateral relations between Latvia and Uzbekistan. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on 3 November 1992. Both countries were Soviet socialist republic of the USSR from 1940 until 1991. Latvia has an embassy in Tashkent which is also accredited to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, and in which Estonia issues visas to Uzbeks, and Uzbekistan has an embassy in Riga which is also accredited to Lithuania. Both countries are full members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Tourism in Estonia refers to the overall state of the tourism industry in the Baltic nation of Estonia. It is a key part of the country's economy, contributing 7.8% to its GDP, and employing 4.3% of its population. In 2018, tourism and other related services counted for over 10.8 percent of Estonia's exports. Tourism is increasing rapidly in Estonia: the number of tourist arrivals—both domestic and international—has increased from 2.26 million in 2006 to 3.79 million in 2019. Estonia was also ranked the 15th-most safest country to visit in 2017, according to safedestinations.com, scoring 8.94 out of 10 on their list. In a 2018 report published by the OECD, they concluded that most international tourists come from places like Finland, Russia, Latvia, Germany, and Sweden.
