Latvia has extended the entry ban for Russian citizens until March 2024. One of the first measures taken by Latvia on July 29 was to suspend all types of visa applications from Russian citizens, including for humanitarian reasons.

The ban for Russian citizens with Schengen visas to cross the borders of the Baltic countries will come into force in the next ten days.

The tour operator Intourist, two and a half months earlier than usual seasonal terms, announced the opening of sales of tours to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for the New Year and winter holidays 2020-2021.

The Russian Railways have announced the termination of international trains with Latvia starting March 15, and with Ukraine and Moldova on March 17.

A new summer seasonal route between Riga and Russia’s Yekaterinburg will be launched by Latvian airline airBaltic on April 1. The new connection will offer more convenient travel options for travelers from the Baltics and Russia to the airline’s network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, the CIS, and the Middle East.

During the upcoming New Year and Christmas holidays, Russian tourists will be able to go to the Baltic States by charter railway tours. Intourist launches sightseeing tours to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for the New Year and Christmas holidays.

There has been an increase in sales of Christmas tours in the Baltic countries. According to market participants, working on the destination, the number of bookings has increased by an average of 10%, compared with the same period of 2017. The depth of sales has also grown - it is already over 2.5 months.

On Thursday, July 20, tour operators working with the Baltic States received an official letter from the Latvian Embassy in Russia. In it, the embassy noted that very few tourists come to the country through Russian providers of tourist services. "Despite a sharp increase of the number of issued visas by the embassy in 2016 and in the first half of 2017, less than 5% of the total number of visas were filed by accredited travel companies, which indicates that the form of current cooperation is ineffective and requires changes", - the letter says.

Russia, despite the times of crisis, has held the positions on the Serbian market. In January-July 2016, 24 408 Russian tourists visited Serbia – about as much as in the same period a year ago. At the same time Russia is the absolute leader among all the countries in the duration of stay in Serbia.

In the second quarter of 2015, the number of visitors from Russia in Latvian hotels decreased by 37%, according to the Central Statistical Bureau of the country (CSB). Meanwhile, the total number of international tourists accommodated in Latvian hotels in the same period, increased by 2.4% compared to 2014 and amounted to 577.6 thousand people. Among them, 81.1% of international tourists stayed in Riga, 7.6% - in Jurmala, 1.7% - in Sigulda region, 1.3% - in Liepaja, 0.9% - in Daugavpils and Ventspils.