“Until now, the reference point and goal of the tourism industry have been the successful indicators of 2008. Now, the bar is raised higher and we have to work hard to ensure that this tendency continues to grow. That will all depend on the collaboration of industry partners, support for the popularisation of Riga tourism, and primarily the possibility for guests to arrive easily and comfortably. A good basis for the development of Riga tourism has been set, so that the most important thing now is simply to not rock the boat", says Vita Jermaloviča, member of RTAB board.

The CSP data shows that, in the second quarter of 2011, more than 31.3% of foreign visitors were hosted in Riga tourist lodgings compared to the same period last year. The biggest growth was from those countries that were the target of the spring/summer campaign of LIVE RĪGA: Russia – more than 96%, Sweden – almost 43% more, the number of guests from Norway has been growing as well – almost 23% and Germany almost 17%. Compared to the second quarter of 2010, an increase in guests from Poland and Italy (37%), Denmark (29%), and the US (almost 25%) and the UK (almost 16%) was also observed.

The largest number of guests who stayed in Riga hotels and tourist lodgings in the second quarter of this year were from Germany (12%), Finland (almost 12%), Russia (11%), Norway (8%), and Sweden (almost 7%). Almost 6% of guests arrived from Estonia and 5% from Lithuania.

At the end of the second quarter of 2011 there were 116 tourist lodgings in Riga with 13,253 beds.

The spring/summer 2011 campaign of LIVE RĪGA took place from February until 31 May in Germany, Sweden, Norway, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Israel, Georgia, and Belarus. In the first phase of the campaign Riga advertisements as a spring holiday destination were published in magazines in collaboration with Radisson Blu Hotel in Russia, Norway, Finland, and Sweden.

During the campaign, Riga advertisements were published in 21 magazines, 3 times in each. Environmental advertisements were placed in Helsinki, Oslo, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, and Dusseldorf. Radio competitions were organised in Moscow and Georgia, but web advertisements were supplemented by Google and Yandex search options. Environmental advertisements in 33 towns of Sweden were placed in collaboration with the Ferry Company Tallink.