Latvia enjoys a favourable geographical position at the centre of the three Baltic States (between Estonia and Lithuania) in north-eastern Europe. Riga, its capital, is the jewel in Latvia’s crown, attracting the largest number of tourists, mostly on weekend breaks. In 2010, the country as a whole welcomed over 5 million arrivals.

Tourism has developed at an impressively fast pace following independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, with a sharp increase following its entry into the European Union (EU) in 2004. One of the least populated of the EU member states, Latvia has come a long way in developing tourism infrastructure, but in the five years from 2006-10, its tourism industry has been beset with problems, associated with the inadequate quality of tourism products and services, the strong seasonality of tourism, VAT rate increases and the lack of a common future vision. The Latvian Tourism Marketing Strategy 2010-2015 stresses a focus on quality, innovation and product compliance with current market trends and requirements in Europe’s competitive tourism environment.