Record number of tourists visited Riga last year - 3.5 million

RIGA - A record number of tourists visited Riga last year - 3.5 million, which was 1.4 times more than in 2017, the Riga Tourism Development Bureau informed LETA.

The largest number of tourists visiting the Latvian capital in 2018 were from Germany - 176,000 or 11.9 percent of the total number of foreign tourists visiting the city. This was followed by tourists from Russia - 173,800, or 11.6 percent, Estonia - 109,800, or 7.4 percent, Lithuania - 100,400 or 6.7 percent, and Great Britain - 98,700 or 6.6 percent.

''The increase in the number of tourists shows that our strategy to attract foreign guests has been a successful one. We are truly happy that there has been a substantial increase in the number of tourists visiting Riga, and that the average number of nights spent has also risen. We continue to see an increase in the number of tourists visiting Riga from our target countries as well,'' the head of the Riga Tourism Development Bureau Vita Jermolovica explains, adding that Riga continues to strengthen its position as a popular European and global tourist destination.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Riga in 2017 reached 2.5 million.