Tourism direct GVA (2023) | Tourism direct employment (2025) | Travel exports (2025) |
|---|---|---|
3.2% of total GVA (up 0.4 percentage points since 2022) | 8.6% of total employment (equal to share in 2024) | 16.9% of total service exports (up 0.6 percentage points since 2024) |
OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2026
National tourism strategy: Latvian Tourism and Events Industry Export Promotion Strategy until 2027
National tourism administration: Ministry of Economics
National tourism budget: EUR 4 million (2025)
Key tourism policy priorities and actions:
Creating competitive tourism products – Driving tourism demand by creating attractive, inclusive and accessible products and utilising high-impact events to strengthen the country’s visibility and reputation while reducing seasonality and creating lasting benefits for the economy.
Driving tourism development through better data – Harnessing the power of modern data collection and analysis, in close co-operation with all ministries, to enable smarter decisions, support innovation, and open new opportunities for sustainable and high-value tourism growth.
Improving the tourism business environment – Fostering a competitive and supportive ecosystem by reviewing and streamlining legal and regulatory frameworks, and reducing administrative burdens.
Tourism is a driver of the Latvian economy. Tourism’s direct share of GVA was 3.2% in 2023. Employment in tourism-related sectors represented 8.6% of the total workforce in 2025, remaining unchanged compared to 2024. Travel exports represented 16.9% of total service exports (EUR 1.4 billion), up from 16.3% in 2024 and 15.8% in 2019. In nominal terms, travel exports have increased by 53.6% since 2019.
In 2025, 2.8 million domestic and international tourists stayed in Latvia’s tourist accommodation establishments, a 4.5% increase compared with 2024. According to hotel and other accommodation statistics, 1.7 million international visitors stayed in registered accommodation establishments in Latvia, an increase of 5.3% compared with 2024. Tourists spent a total of 3.1 million nights, which is 8.3% more than in 2024. The top visitor markets for Latvia were Lithuania (16.3%), Estonia (11.3%) and Germany (10%). Domestic overnight visitors increased by 3.2% to 1.1 million in 2025.
The Ministry of Economics is responsible for developing and co-ordinating the implementation of national tourism policy. The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia is responsible for implementing tourism policy and promoting Latvia both domestically and abroad, supervised by the Ministry of Economics.
The Latvian Tourism Advisory Council and its subgroups enable ongoing co-operation across the public and private sector. The Council is overseen by the Ministry of Economics and includes representatives from several ministries and non-governmental organisations related to tourism, with the Chair appointed by the Minister for Economics.
Tourism development strategies and plans are also undertaken at regional and local levels, by planning regions or regional tourism associations, as well as local municipalities.
In 2025, EUR 4 million were allocated specifically for tourism promotion and marketing activities, including administrative costs, from the state budget and the funding programmes. Additional funding is also available through tourism-related sectoral and horizontal support programmes, including different initiatives such as for attracting foreign film productions to Latvia, supporting the organisation of major international events, promoting digitalisation, improving workforce skills, and strengthening export capacity, etc.
Source: OECD, adapted from the Ministry of Economics, 2026.
Latvian Tourism and Events Industry Export Promotion Strategy until 2027 aims to increase the export capacity of the Latvian tourism sector by promoting the development of innovative, personalised tourism products and products with high added value, while adhering to the principles of sustainable development. The Strategy has four key priorities:
Product and destination development.
Demand stimulation.
Data-driven management.
Improving the business environment and streamlining the regulatory framework for tourism.
The development of new products, stimulation of their demand and the promotion of accessibility remain core priorities for business, destinations and government. Support is directed towards building co-operation networks or clusters, strengthening product development, encourage innovation, and enable wider international marketing.
During the EU Structural Funds 2021–2027 programming period, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia continues to provide aid to Latvian small and medium-sized enterprises for innovative business development. Various types of export support under the SME programme include an export support action plan, participation in national exhibitions, trade missions, visits abroad by high-ranking state officials. In addition, under the tourism product development programme (tourism clusters), entrepreneurs are supported to develop new tourism products and services.
In 2024, a review of support measures for tourism SMEs was launched to ensure more targeted and effective use of resources. This included assessing grant schemes, business advisory services, and improving access to digital tools. These aim to create a more efficient regulatory environment, enabling tourism businesses to focus on service quality, innovation, and sustainable growth.
Large-scale events play a vital role for Latvian tourism, serving as catalysts to attract new visitors, reduce seasonality, and showcase Latvia as an active year-round destination. They create synergies across regions and sectors, amplifying the country’s visibility and economic benefits. The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia provides support for the implementation of major event projects in Latvia in accordance with "Procedure for granting state budget co-financing for large, significant public events and foreign film shoots in Latvia", approved in February 2025. The aim of the support is to provide state budget co-financing for the organisation of major events in Latvia, creating a positive economic impact and promoting a positive international image of Latvia (see box below).
At the same time, new opportunities are being explored by aligning tourism with the creative industries to ensure long-term competitiveness. Targeted support for the film industry can generate direct economic impact and enhance Latvia’s international profile through location-based promotion. By featuring Latvian landscapes, heritage sites, and urban environments in international productions, the country strengthens its image as a distinctive and attractive destination. A notable example of this strategy is the filming of the German mini-series Sisi in various locations in Latvia including Riga Old Town, Rundāle Palace, Cesvaine Castle and Straupe Castle. These cross-sector initiatives highlight Latvia’s integrated approach to tourism development, where culture, sports, and creative industries work together with tourism to maximise impact.
The final priority of the Strategy is to improve the tourism business environment and the related regulatory frameworks, considering the cross-sectoral nature of tourism. In co-operation with the sector through working group meetings, written consultation rounds, bilateral discussions, and public consultation procedures, the following actions have been prioritised within the framework of Strategy implementation:
Review of the Tourism Law, including the clarification of definitions in the Law, for example - in particular the definition of “tourist accommodation”, explicitly ensuring that short-term rental accommodation is also clearly included within the sector.
Review of the system for providing and monitoring package tourism services - reporting requirements have been streamlined, with reductions in both the volume and frequency of reports.
Drawing on data provides opportunities to better manage tourism demand and supply. Open data and information exchange between businesses and the government can strengthen the evidence-base needed to make both business and policy decisions. The Latvian Open Data Portal allows for secure and effective data sharing and continues to be supported and promoted by the Latvian Government.
Latvia has been exploring creative new ways to maximise the impact of limited financial resources by supporting tourism initiatives with potential to stimulate innovation, increase competitiveness, and generate value for both businesses and the national economy. In 2024, Latvia’s tourism sector was showcased across several creative and high-impact initiatives.
617 “Home Cafés” welcomed more than 86 000 visitors in 2024, promoting tourism sustainability and inclusiveness through new product creation, support for small entrepreneurship, and the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage.
In 2024, Latvia was the honoured guest country at Hamburg Port Anniversary Festival in Germany, one of the world’s largest harbour festivals, attracting around 1.5 million visitors. Alongside a vibrant four-day cultural programme, Latvia highlighted its tourism offer, while placing special emphasis on business and partnership opportunities.
In 2024, Latvia hosted the 8th stage of the FIA World Rally Championship filled tourist accommodations and restaurants across Kurzeme while promoting Latvia internationally as a safe and attractive destination. The event was attended by 10 196 foreign visitors, with a total of 37 837 people purchasing tickets, receiving invitations, or accreditations.
The FIBA EuroBasket 2025 event hosted in Riga, Latvia generated significant tourism and media impact. More than 50 000 visitors attended, with an average stay of 3.4 nights, while 2 267 participants stayed on average 13.5 nights. Social media reach related to EuroBasket and references to Riga or Latvia exceeded 189 million, including more than 498 000 engagements (reactions, comments and shares) and over 6.8 million video views.
Another key achievement was the approval of eight new tourism clusters in 2024, strengthening Latvia’s tourism ecosystem and fostering collaboration across sectors. The thematic clusters include health tourism, business and events, culture and creative industries, and nature and active tourism and the geographic clusters focus on Vidzeme, Pierīga, Gauja National Park, and Zemgale.
These clusters serve as a foundation for stronger co-operation, the development of new tourism products, and sustainable growth. They enhance Latvia’s position as an attractive destination, while supporting economic development, job creation, and investment attraction.