RIGA, Feb 21 (LETA) - The number of domestic tourists in Latvia's southwestern seaside city of Liepaja grew by 6.4 percent in 2021, representatives of the Liepaja Regional Tourism Information Office informed LETA, citing data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB).

Last year, a total of 79,195 tourists spent nights at Liepaja's hotels and other tourist accommodation establishments, down 9.1 percent from 2020. 

The average length of stay at Liepaja's hotels and other tourist accommodation establishments increased by 0.1 nights from 2020 to 1.74 nights last year. The overall number of nights spent at Liepaja's hotels and other tourist accommodation establishments dropped by 4.3 percent to 137,544 nights. 

The average occupancy of Liepaja's hotels and other tourist accommodation establishments in 2021 was around 32 percent, while the occupancy of beds was 24 percent. 

The highest occupancy at Liepaja's tourist accommodation facilities was recorded in July when tourists had filled around 67 percent of hotels and other accommodation establishments and 53.5 percent of beds. 

"For the tourism industry, last year passed with restrictions and great uncertainty. Nevertheless, the number of hospitality and catering services providers has not changed much in Liepaja," the regional tourism information office's representative Sintija Pusaudze said, adding that Liepaja has even seen several new eateries and small accommodation establishments open in the city. 

Of the foreign guests visiting Liepaja last year, 58.24 percent came from Lithuania, 11.1 percent from Germany, 6.8 percent from Estonia, 5.7 percent from Poland, 5 percent from Russia, 3.7 percent from Denmark, 2.5 percent from the UK and 2.1 percent from Italy. 

The port of Liepaja last year received 174 yachts from 13 countries with a total of 563 crewmembers. Most often, yachts came from Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia and Finland.