Tourism in Latvia's eastern border region starts to recover after spring drop
Tourism activity in Latvia's eastern border region exceeded last year's level in August, after mass cancellations following May airspace threats and drone activity. The government reviewed the Ministry of Economics report on 6 November.
Tourism in Latvia's eastern border region has partly recovered over the summer after a sharp spring decline. On 6 November the Cabinet of Ministers reviewed an informative report by the Ministry of Economics on the region's tourism situation following the airspace threats and drone activity recorded in early May. The report shows that the number of people served in August was 10.22% higher than in August 2025, while in June and July it was still 6.34% and 5.65% lower, respectively.
The spring slump
According to the Latgale Tourism Association, geopolitical risks and security incidents in the first half of 2026 led to at least 5,907 cancelled bookings at accommodation and attractions. Some 58.5% of businesses began deliberately omitting their location from marketing. In the second half of May, new bookings fell by 40–60%.
State support
In July the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) received extra funding to strengthen the border area's image as a safe destination. Support for Home Café Days was tripled: 568 cafés took part and 84,041 people visited them. Digital campaigns were scaled up tenfold, and work with Lithuanian and Estonian content creators reached an audience of 1,175,600. Foreign tourism professionals and journalists also visited the region. Public institutions organised 233 events with 93,800 participants.
Figures
The August increase was driven mainly by domestic demand, which rose 12.3%. State Revenue Service data show that in July the value of catering transactions in the region grew by 12.2%, accommodation by 8.5%, and travel agencies and tour operators by 30.3%.
Compared with 2019, the total number of guests in Latvian accommodation over the first eight months of this year is 0.3% lower; foreign guests are down 14.7%, while domestic guests are up 30.8%. LIAA director Ieva Jāgere stressed that the positive trend does not mean the challenges have been overcome and that state support should continue.
On 4 November the European Commission published the EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy, which also highlights the challenges facing eastern border regions. On 23 July, Economics Minister Viktors Valainis and representatives of six other countries had sent a joint letter to the Commission on the issue.
