RIGA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Foreign tourism in Latvia continued to decline in the first quarter of 2026 amid regional geopolitical tensions and growing competition from neighboring capitals, according to data released on Monday by the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia.
Foreign visitors spent 447,400 nights in Latvian hotels and other tourist accommodations in the January-March period, down 7.5 percent from the same period in 2025. The number of foreign guests fell 7.2 percent year-on-year to 246,600.
By contrast, domestic tourism continued to grow. Nights spent by Latvian residents rose 4 percent to 331,700, while domestic guest nights increased 2.8 percent to 200,500.
Overall, tourist accommodation recorded 779,100 guest nights in the first quarter, down 3 percent from a year earlier.
According to the Riga City Government, foreign tourism flows continue to be affected by the regional geopolitical situation and broader economic challenges.
The city government also said that Riga faces competition from neighboring capitals that have invested substantially in tourism development since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Compared with the first quarter of 2019 before the pandemic, the number of foreign guests in Latvia remained 18.3 percent lower this year. Guest nights in the first quarter were still 14.5 percent lower than in 2019, including a 27.5 percent decline in nights spent by foreign visitors.
Lithuania accounted for the largest source of foreign visitors in the first quarter, followed by Estonia, Britain, Germany, Finland, Poland, Sweden, the United States, Spain, Norway, and Ukraine.
Most foreign visitors stayed in Riga, which accounted for 80.4 percent of all foreign guests, followed by Jurmala, Marupe Municipality, and Liepaja.
