Latvia Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in latvia, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Travel and Tourism
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Overview

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism was one of Latvia’s fastest growing sectors. This growth had been steady in prior years, boosted by the Latvian government’s implementation of the EU Open Skies policy and incentives for air carriers to attract additional passengers to Riga International Airport (RIX). In 2024, over 7.1 million passengers flew through RIX, which is positioning itself as a regional hub due to the growth of Latvia-based carrier AirBaltic.  Cruise tourism has also been an important driver, with Riga welcoming almost 81,000 cruise ship passengers in 2024.

Leading Sub-sectors

The leading subsectors of Latvia’s travel and tourism industry are accommodation, food and beverage services, and transport, supported by strong niches in culture/recreation, business tourism, and health/wellness tourism. Domestic travel remains a major driver of overall activity alongside steadily growing foreign visitor arrivals.

Opportunities

Opportunities exist in the travel and tourism sector, particularly in hotel, airport, and ferry operations.  Latvia’s rising visitor numbers and role as a regional hub are creating practical needs for expanded infrastructure and services

Resources

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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