9% more tourists stayed at Latvian tourist accommodation establishments in Q1

A total of 397.4 thousand visitors stayed at Latvian tourist accommodation establishments in Q1 2017, which is 8.6 % more than during the first three months of 2016.

Compared to last year, the number of nights spent by visitors increased by 6.3 % and reached 784.9 thousand this year. The average duration of a visitor’s stay at an accommodation establishment was 2.0 nights, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia.
 

Over Q1 2017, 264.3 thousand foreign visitors were serviced, which is 9.9 % more than during the respective period of the previous year, whereas the number of nights spent by foreign visitors has increased by 6.7 %, reaching 530.0 thousand.
 

Most of the foreign visitors came from Russia (53.9 thousand), Estonia (30.9 thousand), Lithuania (30.8 thousand), Germany (17.3 thousand) and the United Kingdom (16.4 thousand). There has been a significant increase in the number of visitors from Canada (of 182.8 %), Israel (of 148.0 %), the USA (of 43.9 %), Ireland (of 24.9 %), Poland (of 21.0 %), as well as Sweden (of 20.8 %). The number of Russian visitors hosted has grown by 17.0 %. There were less foreign visitors from Finland (by 17.5 %), China (by 16.7 %), Switzerland (by 13.9 %), Ukraine (by 8.6 %), Belgium (by 7.0 %) and Japan (by 6.3 %).
 

The neighbouring countries of Latvia accounted for 46.9 % of all foreign visitors – 20.4 % were from Russia, 11.7 % from Estonia, 11.6 % from Lithuania and 3.2 % from Belarus. Out of all foreign visitors, 83.7 % stayed in Riga, 6.6 % – in Jūrmala, 1.4 % – in Daugavpils, 1.1 % – in Liepāja and 0.9 % – in Sigulda county.
 

In Q1 2017, 133.2 thousand Latvian residents were hosted at tourist accommodation establishments, which is 6.0 % more than during Q1 2016, whereas the number of nights spent increased by 5.5 % and amounted to 255.0 thousand.
 

Latvian residents stayed mostly in Riga (31.7 % of visitors), Jūrmala (13.1 %), Liepāja (8.8 %), Daugavpils (4.6 %), Sigulda county (3.8 %) and Jelgava (2.7 %).
 

In Q1 2017, 263.5 thousand visitors were hosted at tourist accommodation establishments of Riga – 5.6 % more than during Q1 the previous year. The number of foreign visitors in Riga increased by 7.0 % and amounted to 221.3 thousand. The majority of foreign visitors who came to Riga were from Russia (19.9 %), Estonia (10.3 %), Lithuania (10.0 %), the United Kingdom (7.0 %), Germany (7.0 %) and Norway (5.4 %).

BNN

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