The number of foreign guests in Latvian hotels decreased by 7.2% over the year. The locals helped a bit – their number in hotels increased by 2.8%.
At the beginning of 2026, a decrease in the total number of guests was observed in all months of the quarter — in January by 2.7%, in February by 2.8%, and in March by 3.3%, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau.
As a result, in the first quarter of 2026, of all guests served in tourist accommodation places, 55.2% or 246.6 thousand were foreign tourists, which is 7.2% less than in the first quarter of last year. The number of nights spent by foreign guests decreased by 7.5% compared to the same period last year, totaling 447.4 thousand.
The largest number of foreign guests came from Lithuania — 42.2 thousand (down by 3.1 thousand compared to the 1st quarter of 2025); Estonia — 28.7 thousand (down by 5.8 thousand); the United Kingdom — 19.4 thousand (down by 5.8 thousand); Germany — 16.3 thousand (down by 1.5 thousand); and Finland — 14.5 thousand (up by 500 people).
Tourists did not travel far from Riga. In the capital and its surroundings, 85.7% of all foreigners stayed overnight. Next is Jūrmala (5.5%) and Liepāja (2.1%).
The rooms of fearful foreigners are being occupied by locals. In the first quarter of 2026, 200.5 thousand residents of Latvia were served, which is 2.8% more compared to the first quarter of last year.
The largest number of residents of Latvia were accommodated: in Riga — 36.1%; in Jūrmala — 13.5%; in Liepāja — 6.5%; in Daugavpils — 4.3%; in Cēsis Municipality — 4.1%; in Sigulda Municipality — 3.2%; in Valmiera Municipality — 2.9%.
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