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Latvian Tourism Newsletter – March 2012
March, 2012
Top stories
New Latvian tourism quality logo launched at this year’s "Balttour" international tourism exhibition
March, 2012
Top stories
New Latvian tourism quality logo launched at this year’s "Balttour" international tourism exhibition
Culture tourism
International Baltic Ballet Festival
From April 27 to May 28, the
annual ballet festival - International Baltic Ballet
Festival, will once again delight audiences for the
seventeenth time, and is due to offer varied and rich ballet
and dance programs. The festival will feature stars from
around the world and will allow dance enthusiasts to enjoy
world-class performances from classical to avant-garde. The
festival will be also...
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Premieres at Latvian National Opera
This spring, the Latvian National
Opera (LNO) will feature two premieres – Richard
Wagner’s opera "Gotterdammerung" on April 29, and Gaetano
Donizetti’s opera "Lucia Di Lammermoor" on May 24. The
opera’s conductor will be one of Germany’s rising stars
Cornelius Meister. On the other hand, the director of the
opera will be Viesturs Kairišs, who has...
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Latvian National Symphony Orchestra’s season closing concerts
On
May 10 and 11, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra
(LNSO) will perform its season ending concerts at the Great
Guild Hall in Riga. LNSO Chief Conductor Karel Mark Chichon
will conduct the orchestra as it performs excerpts from
Sergei Prokofiev’s "Romeo and Juliet". Chichon will be
joined by the internationally renowned violinist Guy
Braunstein, first concertmaster of the...
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Latvia’s majestic palaces and castles
Latvia is a country rich in
castles, palaces and manor houses, and is a perfect place
for those who enjoy architecture and culture. Some of the
most well-known palaces and castles in Latvia include Bauska
Castle, the former residence of the Duke of Courland, the
Classicism style Mežotne Palace, as well as the Baroque
pearl of the Baltics – Rundāle Palace, which was designed
and...
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Entertainment tourism
Once every year, people have the unique
opportunity to visit various museums at nighttime and for
free, which means that the Night of the Museums has arrived.
On this night, most of Latvia’s museums organize special
events and interesting exhibitions, which have become almost
a pilgrimage for many persons who try to visit as many
museums as possible. This year, the Night of the...
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Active and sports tourism
The
"Nordea" Riga Marathon will be held once again in the
Latvian capital this May, which has over the past several
years gained much popularity and increased its prestige
globally. This year’s event will once again gather
thousands of athletes from all over the world. This year’s
"Nordea" Riga Marathon will take place on May 20 (Sunday).
The start area is located in downtown...
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Health tourism
Summer resort season in Jurmala begins
The summer resort season in the
Latvian coastal city of Jurmala will kick off on May 19.
Celebrations will begin on the day with the annual parade
through the streets of the city. Various special cultural
events will also take place throughout the city on May 19.
Jurmala is the largest resort city in the Baltics, and has
much history as a resort town. The city is located only 25
kilometers...
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Shopping tourism
Arts and crafts festival "Līvas ciems"
On May 26 and 27 in the Latvian
costal city of Liepaja, the 10th annual "Līvas ciems" (Liv
village) arts and crafts festival will be held on the
city’s promenade. Artists and craftsmen from all over
Latvia will be on hand to show of their products. Over the
years, the festival has developed from a relatively small
traditional arts and crafts fair, to a large culture, crafts
and...
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Culinary tourism
Romantic wine tour through Kurzeme
For the past several years, the
charming town of Sabile in Kurzeme Province (western Latvia)
has celebrated its annual Wine Festival. Furthermore, it is
possible to sample locally produced wine at the annual Duke
Jacob Market every autumn in Kuldiga. However, a whole wine
tour through Kurzeme Province has been created for tourists
this year, which offers travelers a romantic tour
through...
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Tourism industry news
Latvia participates in international tourism exhibitions in Russia, Germany and Sweden
In March, Latvia, in cooperation
with the State Tourism Development Agency (TAVA) will
participate in three international tourism exhibitions in
Berlin, Moscow and Gothenburg. With support from the
European Regional Development Fund, participating in these
exhibitions will be representatives from 10 local
governments and 24 local companies associated with the
tourism sector. From March 7...
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Moving forward with determination
Spring is just starting to
draw closer, as Latvia’s tourism sector is still in
hibernation. However, 2012 has started with a good mood and
the determination to work hard to achieve huge goals. This
is due to the fact that 2011 was a very successful year for
the Latvian tourism sector. During the first half of last
year, the number of tourists visiting Latvia grew each
month, with the...
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Spa center "ESPA Riga" wins prestigious award and gain global recognition
For the past ten years, readers
of the world’s most popular travel magazine "Conde Nast
Traveller" have voted for the top SPA centers in the world
on their web-page www.cntraveller.com, with the "ESPA Riga"
spa center coming up on top in one category. The "Conde Nast
Traveller’s" annual "Readers SPA awards 2012" singles out
the best relaxation centers in Great Britain and...
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New Latvian tourism quality logo launched at this year’s "Balttour" international tourism exhibition
During the recent "Balttour
2012"’tourism exhibition, the new Latvian tourism quality
system "Q Latvia" was introduced. The first to be granted
the symbol was the Mežotne Palace Hotel, Turaida Castle
Complex and Museum, Valmiermuiža Brewery, hotel "Raibie
Logi" and the "Bīriņu Pils" hotel. Also given the logo
were several Riga tourism information centers – at
Ratslaukums...
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Jurmala wins Russian tourism award
For the ninth year in a row, the
Latvian coastal resort city of Jurmala has been named "Best
Baltic Sea Region Resort 2011" by the Russian tourism portal
www.travel.ru. Readers of the Russian tourism portal have
named Jurmala the top resort in the Baltic Sea region since
the on-line voting competition was established in 2003.
Jurmala competed with the top resorts in Germany,
Scandinavia,...
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Tourism portal offers several travel routes through Eastern Europe
The tourism
news portal "Agrophilia" has come up with several
interesting travel routes through Eastern Europe, with one
of the routes going through Latvia. For most Brits and
Americans, Eastern Europe is a relatively unknown area of
the world. These travelers tend to concentrate on the more
well known destinations: France, Spain, Portugal, and
Amsterdam, etc – and so unfortunately...
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Useful Information
The State Tourism Development Agency has
set up an official tourist information hotline 1188 to
heighten convenience and comfort for visitors while in
Latvia, offering support, advice and trouble-shooting 24h in
the English, German, Russian and Latvian languages. Tourist
Hotline 1188 offers: • Informative support in emergency
situations (for example, theft, scams, rip-offs,
consular...
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more
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