Latvia concerned about decrease of tourists

Riga, April 15 (IANS) Due to an economic slow down in Russia, the number of tourists from Russia may decrease, said Kitija Gitendorfa, president of the Association of Latvian Travel Agents and Operators on Monday.

"The situation in Russia is similar to the situation in Latvia at the time of financial crisis, when many people preferred to economise on travelling. The number of tourists from Russia has already decreased since the end of last year," Gitendorfa was quoted as saying by the Baltic News Service, according to Xinhua.

Gitendorfa noted that the share of tourists from Russia is substantial, therefore, to compensate this decrease by means of tourists from other countries might be difficult.

Last year was a year of success for the Latvian travel industry. Latvian border was crossed 5.8 million times, a 4.5 percent increase in comparison with 2012.

The Latvian government considers tourism as a priority industry. Tourism contributed 608.4 million euros to the Latvian economy last year, or nearly four percent of the country’s gross domestic product.