Riga gains ground as a desirable city for international conferences

01.09.2014 06:13 | Latvia

Photo: Ingus Evertovskis

Author: Latvia. Travel
Source: Latvia.Travel

Thanks to the booming hotel sector in Riga, it is becoming a popular destination for organizations and enterprises to hold their conferences and congresses. The Riga Tourism Development Bureau (RTDB) reports that the Latvian capital already is able to compete with other large metropolises in northern Europe.

It goes without saying that the door opens wider for international conferences as more and more new hotels sprout up in downtown Riga. And furthermore, Riga competes by offering more affordable prices, top quality services, reliability and security.

RTDB’s "Meet Rīga" Marketing/Communications Director Aigars Smiltāns calls the services that Riga hotels offer "wide-range and excellent.” "Some have just opened recently therefore their infrastructure is ultra modern. Professionally trained staff, affordable prices, carte blanche breakfast, free WiFi in entire facility are just some of the advantages Riga has. A major plus in the conference/event-organizing sector is the opening of the new National Library (Palace of Light) complex, as it is capable of holding up to 450 persons with the option of parallel sessions in its multiple conference rooms."

Next year, with Latvia as the presiding country in the EU Council, is sure to be abundant conference-wise, but Smiltāns underlines that this year’s activity can be rated positive as well, what with such international conferences here in Riga as ELIA, LIBRE and ICIT. The biggest is yet to come, in September: the European Dialysis and Transplant Association’s conference (over 1,000 participants).

Adding to the boom, next year will see the grand opening of at least four more hotels in Riga – 600-700 rooms and ample conference space