Valainis discusses tourism development and digitalization with German lawmakers

RIGA - Economics Minister Viktors Valainis (Greens/Farmers) on Tuesday met with a delegation of the Tourism Committee of Germany's Bundestag, with the meeting focusing on Latvia's tourism strategy, management of tourist traffic, bilateral cooperation in digitalization and tourism, LETA was told at the Economics Ministry.

The ministry's representatives said that the the parties discussed activities in the tourism sector that are successfully attracting travelers and ensuring an increase in the profitability and exports of tourism products. Members of the Bundestag Committee on Tourism confirmed the willingness to develop closer cooperation with the Latvian Economics Ministry to jointly develop initiatives promoting two-way tourism development.

The digitalization of the tourism sector was discussed, noting that it makes the sector more efficient and competitive, but at the same time poses a threat of cyber-attacks. Digitalization is important not only for economic growth and productivity in general, but also in the context of small and medium-sized tourism enterprises.

The travel and assembly restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic posed major challenges for the tourism industry. The start of Russia's war in Ukraine also had an impact on tourism figures, but now Latvia is seeing an increase in tourist arrivals. For this reason, Latvia is actively working to position itself as a safe tourism destination, the Economics Ministry said.

The ministry notes that Germany is one of Latvia's key tourism partners, and cooperation is particularly important in the fields of medical and business tourism.

In the first half of 2025, almost 68,000 German tourists visited Latvia.