According to statistical data from the Central Statistical Office, the number of foreign visitors registered in hotels and other apartments in Latvia in the first half of 2011 reached almost 445 thousand, which is an increase of almost 30% compared to this period of the last year. The number of foreigners registered in Latvia in the first half of the year who decided to stay overnight exceeded the number of people registered in the last ten years. In the first half of the year, a significant proportion of tourists - almost 81% - decided to spend the night in Riga.

Latvian Tourism Development Agency Director Armands Slokenbergs says: The escalation of the number of tourists was facilitated by the joint marketing activities of the industry and LTDA, and the benefit is partly also due to the new tourism image of Latvia and the slogan Best slowly enjoyed, which was slowly enjoyed by both local tourism professionals as well as by international experts from the World Tourism Organization and the world's largest travel guide The Lonely Planet. For 2011 we expect excellent results in the tourism industry. Knowing that the scope of LTDA's marketing activities will broaden in the coming years, we can confirm that Latvia as a tourist destination has returned to the tourism market solidly and safely.