Summers usually have been the busiest seasons for local tourism. City festivals almost at every weekend and other larger or smaller festivals attracted local travelers, but Old Riga was full of foreign tourists who were listening to stories about the House of Blackheads that had been torn down during World War II and then rebuilt shortly before the Millennial.

In the summer of 2020 or after the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, when Covid-19 incidence in Latvia was very low, local tourism activities, even though at a smaller scale, were visible. City festivals were held in smaller formats as well as other activities attracting tourists, gathering people.

Still, a year ago, Covid-19 incidence cannot be compared to today’s situation, Even though incidence in Latvia is declining, it is dropping much faster elsewhere in Europe, and Latvia has become a country with one of the highest Covid-19 levels in the EU and EEA. This might keep travelers from other countries to come to Latvia.

Also, a number of cities point out that there is no so-called "Baltic bubble" any more as last year tourists from Estonia and Lithuania accounted for a large number of arriving tourists. If the requirement for ten-day self-isolation for travelers remains in force, this will not do good for local tourism.

Still much unknown

The fact that this will not be very active summer in tourism has been implied also by Inguna Motte, a board member of the Latvian Association of Professional Tour Guides. "I think that tourist groups will not be arriving this summer. As I hear from my German colleagues, there is an offer to travel to the Baltic states, but the demand for these trips is zero," she said.

Motte herself expects to conduct at least some excursions for hobby. In late May, Motte had only three excursions booked for the season.

"My personal opinion is that tourism will never reach such activity as before the Covid-19 crisis. The world has changed and continues changing. Traveling habits will also change," she said.

Popular tourist destinations outside Riga still view the upcoming summer with optimism and caution.

Rezekne Tourism Development Center head Jelena Kijasko said that the center is waiting for the summer season, at the same time, being aware that Covid-19 influence is still present.

"The good news is that we have last summer’s experience, therefore we have prepared for this summer season - there will be events, digital exploration games, new tourist sites and routes,’ said Kijasko, adding that Latvian residents will be actively traveling across Latvia.

Telling about the new sites in Rezekne she mentions the new promenade by the Rezekne River that now connects Latgale Embassy Gors, Rezekne castle hills and the Olympic center Rezekne built in 2020. "As guiding services have been restricted, we have developed a virtual game "Against the Current" that makes the walk along the promenade more interesting. This can be done individually or in a family by simply downloading an app on your smart phone," said Kijasko.

Latgale Embassy Gors, Latgale Culture and History Museum and other sites have also found alternative solutions to offer to their guests.

Jana Bergmane, the head of Kuldiga active recreation center, said that there are concerns that there will be fewer tourists from Estonia and Lithuania who last year formed about 30-35 percent of tourists in Kuldiga. This is related with the travel regulations, among others, requiring for self-isolation period. "Unfortunately, there is no "Baltic bubble" like it was last year," said Bergmane.

In her words, July 1 has been named as a date when travel restrictions might be eased, but as there is not clarity about it, Kuldiga hopes for local tourists. She also said that there is little information about how the "green passport" will work and how it will affect families with children who cannot be vaccinated against Covid-19 yet.

She said that Kuldiga has traditionally been a venue for different culture and arts events, but right now it is not clear how they can be organized. At the same time, events are being planned for summer, such as Taste Kuldiga on July 10-11 and others.

Active Vidzeme

Valmiera Tourism Information Center’s (TIC) tourism project manager Zane Krumina said that last year and a half had been a huge challenge also for the tourism sector. "We are following the epidemiological situation and restrictions in order to prepare the best possible proposal for Valmiera residents and guests, at the same time, meeting all regulations," she said.

Krumine noted last year’s online concerts in Valmiera, park illuminations, digital photo orienteering events, thematic routes, offering stories told by Valmiera certified tour guides.

"In 2020, we positively felt the "Baltic bubble"- neighbors from Estonia are frequent guests in Valmiera, but we received also more Lithuanian tourists. Latvian residents were actively traveling to Valmiera well, focusing on different nature trails," said Krumina.

Valmiera is planning different events for summer, potentially attracting tourist flows - Valmiera’s 738th anniversary will be celebrated on July 23-25, while August will start with Valmiera Theater Festival, home café days in Valmiera counties when local residents and companies will open cafes in their yards, offering not only food and beverages, but also different activities, such as creative workshops, exhibitions, farm tours. August will be concluded with ethno-festival Sviests in Valmiermuiza and a fair.

"Also, this year, as the warmer weather has set in, we start seeing more active visits to Valmiera from other Latvian cities and regions, even though TIC can be visited by appointment only. We hope that soon Valmiera TIC and Valmiera museum will be able to open their doors to all visitors, until then we are actively communicating on social media, we have collected ideas for boating, hiking, cycling trips in the new Valmiera county," said Krumina.

Cesis TIC head Madara Zarina said that Cesis has always been a popular tourist destination not only in Vidzeme, but in the whole country, but the Covid-19 pandemic has brought corrections in the tourist flow.

"Compared to 2019, the number of tourists to Cesis Castle dropped by 25 percent in 2020, but last summer, the number of visitors increased by 5 percent. In 2019, those were mostly foreign tourists, while in 2020 summer most the visitors were Latvian residents," said Zarina.

Cesis is expecting tourists, and Zarina believes that they will come in summer. "As the vaccination takes up pace, restrictions are gradually eased not only in Latvia, but across the world, foreign tourists might return," she said.

Cesis is also planning different events, hoping to attract tourists, including Lampa discussion festival and art festival Cesis 2021.

"If the epidemiological situation is favorable for meeting in person, on August 20-21, discussions festival Lampa will move from the traditional Cesis Castle Park to new venues in the city," she said.

Art festival Cesis 2021 will be held from July 10 until August 15. Last year the festival was attended by 5,000 people, other years the number of visitors had been larger. "We’ll see what it will be like this year," said Zarina.