At its meeting on 19 March 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers took note of the export promotion strategy for the Latvian tourism and events sector until 2027 (hereinafter - the Strategy) prepared by the Ministry of Economics in cooperation with members of the Latvian Tourism Advisory Council.
"The Strategy has been developed at a time when the tourism industry is still in the recovery phase after the losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and faces significant challenges due to the geopolitical situation, thus requiring a new clear vision of the tourism industry's profitability and export capacity, as well as new instruments to promote the industry's export breakthrough. We propose a new policy paradigm for the development of the tourism sector - putting forward exportability, international competitiveness and visibility as key components for the development of the tourism sector. At the same time, the sector must become more innovative, sustainable and efficient. Our goal is to increase Latvia's tourism exports to EUR 1.52 billion in 2027," said Viktors Valainis, Minister of the Economy.
The Strategy provides a concise overview of the current situation in the tourism sector and explains the objective, vision and mission of the tourism and events sector, as well as the main priorities for achieving the sector's development goal.
The Strategy sets out an overall vision for the development of the tourism sector, envisaging Latvia as an attractive and viable tourism destination in all seasons. The main mission is to increase the export capacity of the Latvian tourism industry by promoting the development and promotion of innovative, personalised tourism products and products with high added value, in line with the principles of sustainable development.
In order to achieve the objective set out in the Strategy, it is essential to promote investment in the development of large internationally attractive tourism projects, to actively market Latvia as a safe tourism destination, and to provide support programmes for entrepreneurs to promote their exportability. The Strategy identifies four key priorities or strategic directions for achieving the objective:
- product and destination development, which includes the creation and introduction of new and innovative products with high added value, the development of new forms of cooperation in the development of tourism products and the strengthening of operators' competences;
- Demand promotion, which includes effective marketing activities to promote Latvia as a tourism destination and Latvian tourism products, especially in new, promising tourism markets;
- Data-driven governance - to develop a single solution/system for capturing data relevant to the tourism sector and making open data available to stakeholders, as well as to conduct in-depth tourism research;
- Improving the business environment for tourism and improving the regulatory framework for tourism - revising the Law on Tourism, as well as developing a framework for short-term rental accommodation.
"Although the Strategy focuses on stimulating tourism exports, we should not forget about the development of domestic tourism. Local tourism activities based on tradition, which are often family businesses, are essential in Latvia and are becoming the cornerstone of the regional tourism offer and the potential for increasing the export capacity of the regions. By promoting the development of local tourism and developing new products specifically for the local market, tourism enterprises, regions and municipalities will contribute to their innovation and competitiveness," says the Minister of Economy.
The implementation of the identified priorities is permeated by horizontal components - digitalisation and environmental, social and economic sustainability.
The strategy includes two action plans or action lines - Ensuring the international visibility of Latvian tourism and Promoting the export of business and event tourism, which will be implemented in accordance with the available EU funds and state budget resources. At the same time, it is envisaged that new action plans may be developed at any time during the implementation of the Strategy, taking into account the current situation in the tourism and events sector, challenges or proposals from tourism professionals.
The approved Information Report on the Latvian Tourism and Events Sector Export Promotion Strate.