RIGA, July 3 (LETA) - The tourist tax in Riga will be doubled from next year, according to amendments to Riga regulations on tourism in the city that Riga City Council's Finance and Administration Committee supported on Thursday.

Latvian capital's tourist tax will raise to EUR 2 (with value-added tax) per person per night from the current EUR 1, but the maximum tax amount will not exceed EUR 17.8. The amendments will come into force on January 1, 2027.

The agreement was reached after representatives of the Riga Investment and Tourism Agency and Riga City Council met with tourism industry organizations and business representatives.

At the same time, participants of the meeting defined priorities on which the city will be spending additional revenue from the tourist tax: strengthening Riga's international competitiveness, tourism marketing activities, and the development of business tourism.

The local government also plans to strengthen the Meet Riga brand by establishing and developing the Riga Congress Bureau to attract international conferences and business events more actively. This will allow Riga to compete with neighboring capitals for high value-added events, while at the same time making a significant contribution to the hospitality, catering, transport, and other service sectors.

According to the local government, foreign tourism flows continue to be significantly affected by the geopolitical situation in the region and economic challenges. At the same time, Riga is competing with the capitals of neighboring countries, which have invested significantly more resources in tourism development since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Riga currently has one of the lowest tourist taxes in Europe - EUR 1 per person per night (EUR 0.89 plus value added tax).

In Vilnius, Kaunas, and Palanga, the tourist tax is currently EUR 2 per person per night, while in several other European cities it is even higher. Other municipalities in Latvia are also gradually introducing a tourist tax. For example, Kuldiga is introducing a EUR 1.5 tourist tax from this year.

As reported, Riga City Council introduced the tourist tax in 2023. The same year, the tax was reduced to EUR 0.89, which, together with value added tax, amounted to EUR 1.