At the same time, an agreement has been reached on the priorities to which its revenues will be directed – strengthening Riga’s international competitiveness, tourism marketing activities and business tourism development.
Money is invested in the development of the industry
It is planned to strengthen the Meet Riga brand, develop the Riga Congress Bureau in order to attract international conferences and business events more actively. This will allow Riga to compete with the capitals of neighboring countries for hosting events, while developing hospitality, catering, transport and other services.
The flow of foreign tourists is still significantly affected by the geopolitical situation in the region and economic challenges. Riga competes with the capitals of neighboring countries, where significantly more resources were invested in tourism development after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Riga now has one of the lowest tourist fees in Europe – one euro per person per night (0.89 EUR + VAT). For comparison: in Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga it is already two euros per night, and in a number of European cities it is even higher.
Portal delfi.lt quotes Director of the Riga Investment and Tourism Agency Fredis Bikovs:
“All money received from the tourism levy is invested in the development of the industry. The additional funding will make it possible to implement a long-term marketing policy, contributing to attracting foreign visitors and strengthening Riga’s competitiveness in the Baltic and North European region”.
In addition to the income from the tourist tax, the financing of tourism activities has been increased by 2 million euros already in 2026.
