Due to the war in Ukraine, there will be more ferries in Riga, but fewer US tourists / Article

After a two-year break, there are tourists in Riga again. For Sabine from Germany, this is a planned day cruise in Riga. “Very beautiful! Art Nouveau in the city is beautiful, yes.”

For this and Jack, the tour operator has changed the trip he has already bought. “They completely changed the route because of the covid, they changed the way of the ship, we had to be in India now. We’ve been to China and Japan several times, but never here again. It’s fantastic!”

Both Sabine and the Americans brought Shila and Jack to Riga on a cruise ship.

In terms of incoming cruises, this will be a record year for Riga – 40% more ships than in the years before March, some cruise liners will be the size of several football fields.

110 cruise ships will bring 80-100 thousand tourists this summer.

“In view of the war and the closure of St Petersburg [osta], it played out for us. Because now Riga is chosen. And this should also be seen not as a gift but as an opportunity. Take Riga to another level, “said Viesturs Zeps, Chairman of the Board of the Freeport of Riga Authority (for the Development of Latvia).

One such one-day tourist in Riga spends an average of 20 euros. Those who choose tours or spend the night, of course, more.

The joy of the many cruise ships in Riga is overshadowed by the fact that the covid dictates its own rules in terms of the number of passengers. The ships are not filled to the maximum and, for example, a ship with 3,000 seats only enters with 800 passengers on board. The average load factor is 50-60%. However, not so much a coward as the war in Ukraine affects the flow of tourists.

“We are very close to the war zone, and unfortunately this is the influence of the mass media, because Latvia has been shown as [kara zonai] close to the country.

The Latvian Investment and Development Agency should work here to change this image, “says Ieva Keiša, director of Latvia Tours.

This was especially felt in Rundāle Castle. Every second reservation was denied at the beginning of the war. “A lot of group refusals followed, mostly countries further from Latvia, tour companies from the USA or southern European countries, Italy, Spain, Portugal,” said Laura Lūse, director of the Rundāle Castle Museum.

Rundale is one of the stages in a trip created by an American tour operator along the road of the architect Rastrelli, which ends in St. Petersburg, and the road to Russia is closed.

But the summer looks very hopeful.

“The trend has returned to normal, driving from the rest of Europe, from neighboring countries. We are especially looking forward to them, because we have a digital guide in English, German, Latvian, Lithuanian, well, not only in Estonian yet,” Lūse said.

The audio guide is also, in a sense, the answer to the coward or the fact that he no longer wants to move after the cowid. Now everyone can walk around the castle and the park at their own pace.

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