At the Riga City Council meeting, it was proposed to liquidate the Investment and Tourism Agency 0 32

Today, the issue of approving the public report of the Investment and Tourism Agency (RATI) for the past year was discussed at the meeting.

Opposition deputies emphasized that a large part of the agency's budget consists of a subsidy from the municipal budget — over three million euros. At the same time, most of these funds are spent on the salaries of the agency's employees. According to the opposition, this is inefficient and does not yield the expected results.

Some deputies believe that the investment budget should be increased from three to ten million euros, while the agency itself should be liquidated.

They argue that only the top five employees of RATI should be retained, who will be responsible for working with investors, and the mayor and deputy mayors should take full responsibility for attracting investments. Real results can only be achieved at the highest level of local government — through personal meetings with investors.

Calls to liquidate the agency were heard from the podium, as its activities are deemed "meaningless," and tourists come to Riga thanks to the work of travel agencies or the industry itself.

Nevertheless, the majority of the council supported the approval of RATI's annual report.

According to information available to the deputies, the agency's funding last year amounted to: — basic subsidy from the budget — 3,220,539 euros, — revenues from the municipal fee for receiving tourists in Riga — 857,864 euros, — revenues from paid services — 29,687 euros.

The remaining funds from the 2023 budget amounted to 500,000 euros, which are included in the agency's budget for 2024.