The price level in the catering sector in Latvia has reached the highest level ever, said Janis Yenzis, chairman of the Latvian Restaurant Association, to the LETA agency.
According to him, the year 2025 in the Latvian catering sector will be marked by record turnover, which at first glance may seem like a good indicator of industry growth; however, it is 'overshadowed' by an equally record rise in costs.
Yenzis added that inflation continues to rise, affecting price increases in the sector, and currently, the price level in the Latvian catering sector has reached a critical point, at which it is necessary to be particularly cautious to ensure that Latvia does not lose its competitiveness in the region and in Europe as a whole.
He noted that in other European countries, a reduced value-added tax (VAT) rate has been introduced for catering services, which lowers the final price for consumers. At the same time, he stated that countries in other regions have not been as severely affected by Russian aggression in Ukraine, which continues to negatively impact Latvia's tourism figures.
Yenzis explained that as the turnover in the industry grows, the number of customers decreases: there are few tourists, and the purchasing power of local residents, quality of life, and opportunities to eat out are declining. This forces entrepreneurs to raise prices to maintain business operations.
According to him, in the long term, this could negatively affect tourism figures, so government involvement is necessary both in regulating taxes and in supporting the industry, as well as in investing in tourism marketing. Yenzis emphasized that tourism is a leading sector of export services, and if marketing expenses are planned to be cut in 2026, it will definitely have a negative impact on the recovery of tourism.
He noted that currently, Latvia invests significantly less in tourism marketing than neighboring countries and is lagging behind in tourism indicators, risking losing out in competition with Estonia and Lithuania.
In this regard, the Latvian Restaurant Association considers it necessary to revise the tax burden on the catering sector, introduce a reduced VAT rate for services in this sector, and increase the budget for tourism marketing in 2026.
The Latvian Restaurant Association was founded in late 2017 with the aim of protecting the interests of Latvian restaurants and enhancing their competitiveness.
