Foreign travelers spent EUR 1.239 billion while visiting Latvia last year, marking an increase of 5 percent compared to the previous year and 36.6 percent more than in 2019, the year before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) reported.

The number of overnight stays by foreign tourists at Latvia’s tourist accommodation establishments, booked through the four major platforms – Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, and Tripadvisor – continued to grow in 2024.

According to the CSB, tourism accounted for 4.8 percent of Latvia’s total exports and 16 percent of its services exports in 2024. Over the year, the sector’s share increased by 0.3 percentage points in both total exports and services exports.

Spending by foreign business travelers in Latvia rose by 5 percent, while spending by foreign visitors on personal trips grew by 5.1 percent compared to 2023.

Last year, foreign travelers spent an average of EUR 662 per person in Latvia – more than in Lithuania, where foreign travelers spent EUR 613 per person, but less than in Estonia, where the figure reached EUR 1,097. These expenditures have been rising annually across all three Baltic countries.

In 2024, 1.6 million foreign travelers used accommodation services in Latvia, a 14.3 percent increase compared to the previous year, accounting for 2.8 million overnight stays – up 10.5 percent from 2023. However, compared to 2019, the number of foreign guests staying at tourist accommodations was still 18.4 percent lower, while the number of nights spent was 26.2 percent lower.

Conversely, the number of nights spent by foreign guests at short-term accommodation establishments – such as guesthouses, apartments, and holiday homes – booked through the four major platforms continued to rise, reaching 1.33 million nights in 2024. This represents a 14.6 percent increase from the previous year and a 14.1 percent rise compared to 2019.

In 2024, Latvia ranked first among the Baltic States in the number of nights spent by foreign guests at short-term accommodations booked via the platforms, recording 1.33 million tourist nights. Lithuania followed with 1.27 million, and Estonia with 1.19 million tourist nights.

Source: BNS

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